Witness: Baltimore brothers Eliyahu and Avi Werdesheim followed teen before attack
(CBS/WJZ/AP) BALTIMORE - A witness in the assault trial of brothers Eliyahu and Avi Werdesheim, who are accused of beating an African-American teen, testified he saw the pair following their alleged victim.
The defendants, who are Jewish and white, are accused of beating the 15-year-old while patrolling for an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood watch group in Baltimore on Nov. 19, 2010. Their bench trial opened Wednesday on charges of second-degree assault, false imprisonment and carrying a deadly weapon.Wednesday the alleged victim had approached Judge Pamela White in a bid to drop the charges, but she explained that the state brought the case and it was not his decision to drop it.
Prosecutor Kevin Wiggins asked the teen if the reason he didn't want to testify was because he lied or that the incident didn't happen. The teen said he just didn't want to testify. After talking the situation over with the alleged victim, the judge excused him.
According to CBS Baltimore, a retired Navy SEAL testified Thursday that he watched the Werdesheims follow the youth in a convertible, telling the teenager who was on foot he didn't belong in the neighborhood.
The witness said: "He was scared. He was petrified. It looked like he wanted to disappear and not be there."
The story corroborates what the teen told police during the investigation.
CBS Baltimore reports that a former reporter for the Baltimore Jewish Times also testified, admitting he allowed Eliyahu Werdesheim to edit an article he wrote two weeks after the incident, which included an exclusive interview with the brothers.
He testified Eliyahu cut out several facts about the incident and about his background as a member of the special forces for the Israeli Army.
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April 23, 2012 - Eliyahu and Avi Werdesheim, Jewish brothers accused of beating African-American Baltimore teenager, seek to postpone trial