Outside the courthouse downtown, two groups of demonstrators — one composed of Jews, the other of African-Americans — loudly stated their positions on the case, the former in support of the duo, the latter against what they said was an act of racism.
Avi Werdesheim, 20, and his brother, Eliyahu Werdesheim, 23, are charged with false imprisonment, second-degree assault and possession of a deadly weapon in the Nov. 19 incident, and face a maximum sentence of 10 years if convicted. Both are scheduled for trial on May 2 in Baltimore Circuit Court.
Charging documents said that Eliyahu Werdesheim approached the teen while he was standing in the 3300 block of Fallstaff Road. The teen told police that Werdesheim struck him in the head with his radio and shouted, “You don’t belong around here — get out of here!”
A felony assault charge against the elder Werdesheim brother, a community college student who is also a former Israeli special forces soldier, was dismissed last month. Andrew I. Alperstein, a lawyer who represents him, said Wednesday that neither of the men participates for now in Shomrim, whose Orthodox Jewish members patrol parts of Northwest Baltimore.
Susan R. Green, who represents the younger man, said after today’s court hearing that the two defendants looked forward to their day in court, “and we ask the public not to rush to judgment.”
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(Source: Baltimore Sun)
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One Response
I’m sure they didn’t start up with him because he was black. The defendants would have never approached a black nerdy guy carrying a calculus textbook. The “victim” was probably dressed/behaving as a gang-member trying to menace the Jewish neighborhood. Just because he was a teenager, doesn’t make him any less dangerous. Remember, Yankel Rosenbaum HY”D was also killed by “black teenagers”.