A warning to Mayor Dean and Congressman Cooper: beware the seeds you are sowing in your silence over 287g and Juana Villegas

Here is some good news for all the ardent supporters of the heinous 287g deportation program in Nashville.

And for those public officials like Mayor Karl Dean and Congressman Jim Cooper who continue to maintain their silence over the torture of Mrs. Juana Villegas and the abuse of her newborn son by Music City authorities, this outrage is the kind of conduct your cowardice encourages.

This nation and state continues to turn nasty toward Hispanics -- immigrants illegal or legal. And Hispanic citizens get stained with the same brush of disregard and intolerance.

Be warned about the seeds you are sowing with your acquiescing silence in your community and your children. More and more of the nation is watching.

http://www.eveningsun.com/ci_9996051

3 Pa. teens charged in fatal attack on immigrant

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 07/25/2008 01:31:25 PM EDT


PORT CARBON, Pa. — Three white teens were charged Friday in what officials said was an epithet-filled fatal beating of a Mexican immigrant in a small northeastern Pennsylvania coal town.

Brandon J. Piekarsky, 16, and Colin J. Walsh, 17, were charged as adults with homicide and ethnic intimidation in the death of Luis Ramirez. Derrick M. Donchak, 18, was charged with aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation.

Additional charges are expected in the case that has roiled Shenandoah, the small, economically depressed town where the attack occurred and police have reported friction between whites and a growing Hispanic population.

"As a result of this crime, a young man has lost his life, many other lives have been devastated, and the borough of Shenandoah has been filled with tensions between many ethnic groups," Schuylkill County District Attorney James Goodman said.

Ramirez, 25, who was in the country illegally, was beaten July 12 during a confrontation with a group of youths in a park. Authorities said the suspects used ethnic slurs during the fight, but declined to say whether Ramirez's ethnicity was the motive.

The suspects, all Shenandoah residents, played football at Shenandoah Valley High School; Donchak, now enrolled at Bloomsburg University, was the quarterback last season. He declined comment after the arraignment, but lawyers for Piekarsky and Walsh said there was no evidence to support the homicide charges.

According to a police affidavit, the defendants and three 17-year-olds were drinking alcohol in a wooded area of Shenandoah, then went to a block party sponsored by the borough's Polish American Fire Co. After leaving the party around 11 p.m., the group walked toward a park, where they encountered Ramirez and a teenage girl.

The youths goaded Ramirez and the girl, saying, "You should get out of this neighborhood" and "Get your Mexican boyfriend out of here," documents said. After Ramirez and the girl began walking away, someone yelled an ethnic slur at him, court documents said. He responded, "What's your problem?"

A fight ensued, during which police said Walsh punched Ramirez in the face. The victim fell and hit his head on the street, leaving him unconscious, after which Piekarsky kicked him in the head, police said.

The suspects fled the scene; Ramirez underwent surgery but died about 30 hours later.

Crystal Dillman, the victim's 24-year-old fiancee, who is white and grew up in Shenandoah, said Friday that Ramirez was walking her sister to a friend's house that night.

"He was just trying to be a good person, making sure she got (there) safe," said Dillman, adding she was relieved the charges include ethnic intimidation.

She says Ramirez was often called derogatory names, including "dirty Mexican," and told to return to his homeland. Similar insults have been hurled at their children, ages 2 and 11 months, she said.

"I plan on moving out of this town as fast as I can. Not because I'm scared. I just don't want to see my children have to deal with what their father dealt with," Dillman said.

Following the arraignment, lawyers for Piekarsky and Walsh said their clients are not guilty and that they would try to have the case removed to juvenile court.

Roger Laguna, Walsh's lawyer, said the police affidavit "pretty much describes chaos, and what you have then after the fact is somebody trying to sort through that and attribute certain acts to certain individuals."

Goodman said a fourth teen will be charged as a juvenile with aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation and that charges also will be filed against a man who provided alcohol to the defendants hours before the attack.

Piekarsky and Walsh were detained without bail. Donchak was held in lieu of $75,000 bond.

Preliminary hearings for all three suspects were scheduled for Aug. 4.