Vol. 72/No. 35      September 8, 2008

After a preliminary hearing August 4 a district judge ordered Brandon Piekarsky, 16, and Colin Walsh, 17, to stand trial on charges of criminal homicide, which could also include third-degree murder.

Also standing trial is Derrick Donchak, 18, charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He is accused of holding a metal device in his fist while punching Ramírez.

Ramírez had lived in the United States for six years. He worked in a potato products factory and picked fruit in the fields. He died of severe head trauma on July 14 after being beaten to the ground and then kicked in the head as he walked home two days earlier. During the attack, the youths allegedly yelled racial slurs. All three defendants are also charged with ethnic intimidation.

In the hearing, Ben Lawson, 17, who was with the accused during the beating, testified that the three had met at Piekarsky’s house the next day to create a lie about the attack. “We made up a plan that we’re going to tell the cops that nobody kicked him, that there were no racial slurs, there was no booze, and Brian [Scully] got hit first,” Lawson said.

Witness Eileen Burke testified that she heard Piekarsky yell at a friend of Ramírez at the scene, “Tell your… Mexican friends to get the… out of Shenandoah or you’ll be laying next to him.”

Piekarsky and Walsh decided not to ask to be tried as juveniles, and will thus have jury trials in adult court. They each face a maximum state prison sentence of 20 to 40 years. The judge ruled out the charges of first- and second-degree murder, which could have brought life sentences.

A demonstration supporting justice for Ramírez was organized outside the preliminary hearing by Latina, a Chicago-based immigrant rights organization; Center without Borders; and the May First Coalition. Latina has also raised contributions to assist the fiancée of Ramírez, Crystal Dillman, and their children.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a national Latino legal organization, organized a July 29 candlelight vigil in Shenandoah to call for justice for Ramírez. The group is helping to provide legal assistance.
 
 
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