Shenandoah Trial – Day 1

by Turtle

I was outside the Schuylkill County courthouse this morning at 9am. Ed (my husband) and I taped some signs to our car windows and got out onto the sidewalk. We were immediately thronged by several news cameras (WNEP-local ABC affiliate, CNN, Hazleton 13, etc). Another gentleman, Tony Gladfki, stood a short distance down the sidewalk with his own sign, touting “E-Verify.”

We all spoke to each of the media crews, and Ed and I were adamant about the boys being guilty only of defending themselves. We even had a large poster on the back of the car that said “Honk if you heart Fair Trials.”

I got to meet Valerie Burch, of the Pennsylvania ACLU, who stopped by to ensure that protesters’ rights were not being violated. I will say that Captain Moser of the Pottsville PD was very kind and helpful in getting us to our demonstration area and checking on us periodically.

Shortly after 11am, we went into the courtroom to hear the testimony being given. We listened to two police officers discuss the distances between witnesses’ homes and areas where the fight ensued.There was a large posterboard with a drawing of the area where Luis was found, with the nearest side street and park areas nearby. A small “x” marked the location of where Luis was lying, as well as a similar-sized “x” marking the spot around the corner and up the street where A GUN WAS RECOVERED. Yes, you read that right. A gun was recovered a short distance from the scene.

Elizabeth Schlack was the next witness called to the stand by DA Goodman. She stated that on the night of July 12, 2008, she was lying in her bed with the TV on and heard a commotion outside the open window. She then got out of bed and went to the window, opening it all the way. Schlack said she saw 3 figures kicking a 4th person who was lying on the ground (126 feet from her window). She did not know who was who, nor did she even know if the person on the ground was male or female. She said she heard male and female voices, although on this account her testimony changed a few times (several male voices and one female voice; several male and a couple of female voices; you get the picture). Mrs. Schlack stated that she did not recall how many persons were present during the kicking, (4, 5, or 6) but once her 911 call was played for the jury, it seemed evident that her recollection was not helping the prosecution. The 911 tape revealed that Schlack saw 6-8 people in total on the night in question, how she reported that everyone was beating each other, and that the fighting had stopped while she was on the phone but started again. She also stated that she did not recall telling the 911 operator about the number of people involved nor that the people within her view were all fighting.

Next up, Roxanne Rector, 15-year-old half sister of Crystal Dillman (self-proclaimed fiancee of Luis Ramirez). Well Roxanne testified that she had known Luis for about 6 years, that she had been his girlfriend for about one year, and that a few days before he died, he asked Roxanne to marry him. She stated that he did give her an engagement ring. Roxanne admitted that she was having a physical relationship with Luis, and that on the night of the fight, she had lied to her mother about staying at a female friend’s house, when in fact she intended to spend the night in Luis’s apartment. Her version of events:

She and Luis met up around 5pm, went to his apartment, then went with Arielle and Victor Garcia in a red jeep to the Garcias’ home. Luis and Victor left, purchased a 12-pack of beer, then returned to the Garcia home in about a half hour. Then Roxanne and Arielle went to the Polish American block party, where they stayed for a half hour to an hour. The girls returned to the Garcia home, where Roxanne said she saw Luis drink 2 beers. Some time later, the Garcias drove Roxanne and Luis to the area of Vine Street park. Luis waited on the first set of swings while Roxanne walked the short distance to her mother’s house, where she lied about sleeping over at a girl frined’s house. Roxanne went back out to the street to return to the park, and she saw 6 boys walking the same direction but a little in front of her, across the street.

Her story continues in that she got to the park, where one of the boys said something about her being out late in a bad neighborhood.

At this point the story gets fuzzy, as the judge said the only reason for allowing the testimony about her underage relationship with Ramirez was to show that her version may be biased due to that relationship.

First Roxanne said that Luis did not show any aggression towards the teens except to say “What’s your problem?” twice. By the time the cross-examination was done, Roxanne had admitted that Luis took the first steps towards the teen boys, although she still denies that Luis was on the phone six times calling for backup. She said she only recalled him making one phone call, but he was speaking in Spanish so she did not understand what was being said. She testified that Luis took off his shirt and medallion, and took his wallet out of his pocket, handing them all to Roxanne.

Roxanne said she was telling one of the boys to “stop beating my boyfriend” and the teen responded [paraphrased] “tell your boyfriend to stop and we will too.” She admitted she did not ask Luis to stop fighting at any point. The boys began to walk away. Luis got up off the ground and then went back after the boys, where the fighting commenced again. At some point, the Garcias arrive, where Victor breaks up the fight. The boys were once again leaving, but the fight began a third time. Roxanne said Arielle was standing in front of her, trying to calm her down, so she did not see what was happening with Luis, Victor, and the boys. She said she then saw Luis lying on the ground again, and the boys were running away. One of the boys said “he’s still breathing” and they all ran down the street. She said she did not see anyone kick Luis in the head; she saw someone kick Luis’s right upper arm/shoulder instead.

The court recessed, and Ed and I had to head out. Apparently, we missed the testimony of Ben Lawson, but I’ll update this story when I get that information.

So, some problems we have are:

Dillman was not Ramirez’s fiancee, but her underage little sister WAS.

Dillman told any media that would listen that the boys stomped on Ramirez’s chest so hard that the medallion left an imprint on his chest.

Roxanne never said anything about racial comments being thrown out.

More to come …

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