Beating Death Riles Town's Racial Tensions

Local Pennsylvania Officials Say Killing Of A Mexican Immigrant Wasn't A Hate Crime

(AP)  Luis Ramirez came to the U.S. from Mexico six years ago to look for work, landing in this town in Pennsylvania's coal region. Here, he found steady employment, fathered two children and, his fiancee said, occasionally endured harassment by white residents.

Now he is headed back to Mexico in a coffin.

The 25-year-old illegal immigrant was beaten over the weekend after an argument with a group of youths, including at least some players on the town's beloved high school football team, police said. And despite witness reports that the attackers yelled ethnic slurs, authorities say the beating wasn't racially motivated.

Hate crime or not, the killing has exposed long-simmering tensions in Shenandoah, a blue-collar town of 5,000 about 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia that has a growing number of Hispanic residents drawn by jobs in factories and farm fields.

An investigation continues, and no charges have yet been filed, but police say as many as six teens were involved in the fight, which ended with Ramirez in convulsions and foaming at the mouth. He died early Monday of head injuries.

Crystal Dillman, the victim's 24-year-old fiancee, who is white and grew up here, said Ramirez was often called derogatory names, including "dirty Mexican," and told to return to his homeland.

"People in this town are very racist toward Hispanic people. They think right away if you're Mexican, you're illegal, and you're no good," said Dillman, who has two young children by Ramirez and a 3-year-old who thought of him as her father.

On Dillman's fireplace mantel hangs a medallion of Jesus that Ramirez was wearing the night he was beaten. Ramirez had an imprint of the medallion on his chest, marking where an assailant stomped on him, she said.

Police Chief Matthew Nestor acknowledged there have been problems as the community - the birthplace of big band musicians Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey and home of Mrs. T's Pierogies - has tried to adjust to an influx of Hispanics, who now comprise as much as 10 percent of the population.

Teenagers have sprayed racially tinged graffiti and yelled racial slurs at the newcomers, he said.

"Things are definitely not the way they used to be even 10 years ago. Things have changed here radically," Nestor said. "Some people could adapt to the changes and some just have a difficult time doing it. ... Yeah, there is tension at times. You can't deny that."

Police are still interviewing suspects and witnesses. Preliminarily, though, they have determined that Ramirez, who worked in a factory and picked strawberries and cherries, got into an argument with a group of youths that escalated into a fight in which he was badly outnumbered.

"From what we understand right now, it wasn't racially motivated," Nestor said. "This looks like a street fight that went wrong."

Retired Philadelphia police Officer Eileen Burke, who lives on the street where the fight occurred, told The Associated Press she heard a youth scream at one of Ramirez's friends after the beating to tell his Mexican friends to get out of Shenandoah, "or you're going to be laying next to him."

Shenandoah Valley High School principal Phillip Andras said he knew little about the alleged involvement of any football players. A call by the AP to the athletic director was referred back to the principal.

But the players' possible involvement has added to interest in the case. Football, along with the town's many block parties and festivals, is a major attraction; home games typically draw thousands of fans.

Arielle Garcia and her husband, who were with Ramirez when he was beaten late Saturday, said they had dropped their friend off at a park but returned when he called to say he had gotten into a fight.

She saw someone kick Ramirez in the head, she said, and "that's when he started shaking and foaming out of the mouth."

The Garcias said they heard the youths call Ramirez "stupid Mexican" and an ethnic slur.

Burke, the former Philadelphia officer, said she saw shirtless youths swarming around Ramirez, called 911 and went outside, when she heard a youth yell obscenities and make the get-out-of-Shenandoah remark.

Despite the witness statements, Borough Manager Joseph Palubinsky said he doesn't believe Ramirez's ethnicity was what prompted the fight: "I have reason to know the kids who were involved, the families who were involved, and I've never known them to harbor this type of feeling."

[libsluv2spit]

When the government refuses to enforce the laws of the land then vigilante justice takes hold. The people of this country want our laws enforced it is our right to expect the government to enforce the laws including investigating this death.


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Posted by standlee5 at 03:30 PM : Jul 21, 2008
+ report abuse

that is what i say about liberal states like california THAT REFUSES to expidite the death penalty..

[standlee5]

When the government refuses to enforce the laws of the land then vigilante justice takes hold. The people of this country want our laws enforced it is our right to expect the government to enforce the laws including investigating this death.

[beast23224]

i just plain do not like stupit and ignorant uneducated white people who lack money to get books and read history

[bks59]

Ramirez is dead because he made extremely poor choices at every turn. Am I suppose to feel sad about a criminal who was likely murdered by other criminals?

Posted by mydiatribe at 12:01 PM : Jul 21, 2008

???????????
no, the young father of two is dead because a teenage gange of thugs stomped him to death!

we can discuss about all the social ills that climaxed this event, but it does not change the fact: a teenage gange of thugs stomped him to death!

[mydiatribe]

Ramirez DOES NOT fit the typical liberal sympathetic profile of some poor illegal who enters seeking to make a better life for his family!
Ramirez was single when he entered ILLEGALLY!
Ramirez didn''t marry choosing rather to father two more children without the benefit of wedlock.
Ramirez thumbs his nose at doing things legally.
Ramirez chooses to hang with the rowdies ather than becoming a family man.
Ramirez is dead because he made extremely poor choices at every turn. Am I suppose to feel sad about a criminal who was likely murdered by other criminals?
This man deserves none of our sympathy. Those that hate and murdrered him ought to receive a just punishment, but Ramirez''s own actions were totally irresponsible. Like it or not he IS partly responsible for his own fate.

[six-six-seis]

I hope the Little "Heathens who murdered mr Ramirez, get life in prison or at least the death penalty...

[colonieny]

SPeaking of Mob violence: Try to find the names of the 52 people killed in the 1992 LA RIOTS. The LA Times have ERASED those names and the entire record of the riots from their on line data base. As a PC paper, it is far too revealing about our society - the way it is - vs. the "action line".
Similarly, although horrific, would this story have been printed if a local resident in Penn been killed by a minority group, ? What do you think- is this national news, or just another action line brick ?
Do we live in 1984 ?

[l00ker]

patriot12436,

just think, in 2 more years, there will be 12 million new voting democrats,

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Posted by six-six-seis at 08:43 AM : Jul 21, 2008



http://www.borderpatrol.gov/

[six-six-seis]

patriot12436,

just think, in 2 more years, there will be 12 million new voting democrats,

[chanelle05-2009]

racial or not: it''s a gang assault and they all need to be put away or eye for an eye: receive what they gave!

[robroydonxvl]

I just want them to come into this country legally. What is so wrong with that? If people think I am prejudice because of the way I feel then too bad.


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Posted by whiskyrocker at 09:05 PM : Jul 20, 2008"

fine - then get your paedophilic troops out of other countries in the world unless they enter those countries legally.....whcih ain''t going to happen because no country in the world wants your useless, lazyass paedophilic rural white american trash in their countries

[robroydonxvl]

Typical of useless redneck hillbilly a55holes

Maybe of those white trash hillbilly buybull thumping paedophiles got off their fat a55ses and worked for the first time in their useless lives, employers wouldn''t need to hire Mexicans an other hispanics

facts are that rural white americans are nothing but lazyass useless trash, they always have been nothing but lazyass useless trash and that''s what they''ll always be - it''s part and parcel of their inbred rural white genes

[beast23224]

that is sad that you would think that he would be alive in his country...... all white american need to think that they took this place from "indians" you dont see them killing white people

[beast23224]

that is sad that you would think that he would be alive in his country...... all white american need to think that they took this place from "indians" you dont see them killing white people

[beast23224]

that is sad that you would think that he would be alive in his country...... all white american need to think that they took this place from "indians" you dont see them killing white people

[patriot12436]

cresswell
I also believe a crime was committed here and should be prosecuted. However he was committing a crime being here. If he had stayed in Mexico where he belonged he would still be alive. He had been here for 6 years, there is no excuse for him to not get legal status.

[patriot12436]

whiskeyrocker
I also have nothing gainst Mexicans. I know many who are hard workig and obey the law. I have total respecxt for them. I always enjoy going across the border, and i respect their laws when i am there, they shopuld respect ours when they come here.

[creswell33]

If Ramirez wasn''t attacked because he was Mexican, perhaps the town teenagers attacked him because they''re American? Why can''t the rest of us vote them out of the country?

[bnj87]

I am very disappointed in these boys. My son looked up
to these boys, and he is very confused and upset. I
feel for their parents, because I know they did not
raise their sons to be prejudice. I strongly believe
that our younger community feels very strong feelings
against other races, and I find it apalling. I don''t
understand why there are no arrest yet. If the shoe
was on the other foot, and one of our boys were killed, they would alread be in jail. We need to do
something fast to save our town.

[whiskyrocker]

patriot12436 & stanlee5
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I to have nothing against Mexicans I just want them to come into this country legally. What is so wrong with that? If people think I am prejudice because of the way I feel then too bad.