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Arrests made in park beatings
City teens charged in East Petersburg attack
Intelligencer Journal
Published: Aug 05, 2008
00:52 EST
East Petersburg
By BRETT HAMBRIGHT, Staff

Manheim Township police charged three Lancaster city teens — and have identified a fourth suspect — in the baseball-bat beating and robbery of five teenagers last week, officials said Monday.

Police believe the four suspects, all males, jumped a group of younger teens July 27 near East Petersburg Park on Pine Street, police said.

Christian Rivera-Rodriguez, 18, of Juniata Street, two 17-year-olds and a fourth suspect, also in his late teens, each are being charged with robbery, aggravated assault and conspiracy, all felonies.

The fourth suspect, who has cooperated with police, is expected to be charged this week, investigators said. Those charges were being prepared Monday night, police said.

Rivera-Rodriguez is at Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail. The two juveniles are being charged as adults and are at Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center, where they are awaiting a Wednesday arraignment.

Police said the younger teens were chosen as victims in a case of mistaken identity.

"It's not a random incident," Manheim Township police spokesman Sgt. Tom Rudzinski said. "It was more or less a targeted thing, but not targeted at that group."

"Nonetheless, there is no place for this anywhere, let alone at a family park," the sergeant said. "We were very aggressive in going after them immediately."

The victims, East Petersburg males ages 14 to 16, were skateboarding near the park about 7 p.m. when a car pulled up and four males got out, police said.

The older males demanded money, prompting the younger group to run. However, the suspects caught at least two of them from behind, police said.

According to police, some of the robbers used baseball bats to strike two of the younger boys in the head. Both victims were treated at a local hospital — one requiring stitches — and released, police said.

The alleged robbers made off with cash, a cell phone and other items, police said.

Surveillance cameras at the park filmed part of the incident, police said. That video, along with witness statements and physical evidence — including fingerprints — found in the getaway car, implicated the four city males as suspects, police said.

Rudzinski said the two juvenile suspects are being tried as adults because of "the seriousness of what they did."

"Baseball bats, young kids in a park," he said, "that's serious."

E-mail: bhambright@lnpnews.com


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I'm not hearing my favorite charge...."hate crime". Or is that only a one way thing?

What about attempted murder....hitting someone in the head with a baseball bat is more than an attempt at getting someone's attention.
oh geez
It wasn't a hate crime, it was mistaken identity over a comment made regarding a female. Which none of the victims had anything to do with. I wish they would throw the book at them and charge them with charges to put them away for a long time. Fences wouldn't keep these animals out either.
makinalivin
QUOTE(makinalivin @ Aug 5 2008, 07:46 AM)

It is good to see that surveillance cameras were able to help catch these idiots. I hope that justice is served and we can enjoy our small community once again without fear.


Didn't you hear, camera's are a bad thing, they are an invasion of privacy by "the man."
Hope
a fence? You mean, like the one they have along the Mexico border? Because that does such a good job of keeping all of the illegals out....I was thinking more along the lines of napalm....concentrated mostly in the southeast section of town....then you can eventually turn it into a commuter parking lot....
jk!

afsoc1981
QUOTE(oh geez @ Aug 5 2008, 08:16 AM)

What about attempted murder....hitting someone in the head with a baseball bat is more than an attempt at getting someone's attention.

Because attempted murder requires the prosecution to prove intent. They have to prove to a jury that by hitting the victim with the bat, the defendant intended to kill. All the defense has to do is have the defendant testify that he only intended to disable the vicim and rob him, not kill him.
Agg. Assualt is still a felony and pretty much a slam dunk; no need to prove intent. The DA just has to prove that the assault occured and the defendant did it.

edit: spelling
SusQRiverRat
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