Shomrim Trial To Go Forward Without A Jury

Eliyahu and Avi Werdesheim claim self-defense in the 2010 beating of a black teen, claiming the teen was holding a nail-studded board when they got out of their vehicle and stopped the teen as he walked. The brothers' legal wrangling has postponed the trial six times so far. As the trial was finally set to begin, the brothers claimed that media comparisons of their case to the case of the Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida has poisoned the jury pool, and therefore the court should move the trial out of the Baltimore area – delaying the trial again. But then the brothers agreed to go forward with the trial – but without a jury.

Eliyahu Werdesheim

The Baltimore Sun reports:

Avi and Eliyahu Werdesheim, Jewish brothers accused of beating a black teen while guarding their Park Heights neighborhood, withdrew a request to change the court venue Tuesday and elected to move forward with a Baltimore trial by judge, waiving their right to be heard by a jury of their peers.

They had previously complained that media coverage of their case, coupled with comparisons to the Florida shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was gunned down by a zealous neighborhood watch captain, made it impossible to impanel a fair jury in the city.

Eliyahu Werdesheim, 24, told Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Pamela White, however, that the brothers "feel very confident in [her] judgment." Opening statements in the trial, which could stretch into next week, are set for Wednesday morning.…

The prosecution has a recording of a 911 call that appears to support the victim's story and refute Shomrim's. It mentions 3 to 4 cars with comminty watch members, and says that the Shomrim members were on top of a black youth pinning him to the ground.

The defense is seeking to exclude the recording.

The judge has not yet ruled.

The defense is also trying to claim Avi Werdesheim, the younger of the two brothers, wasn't actually there when the beating took place:

…Much of the afternoon was taken up by testimony from Phil Jacobs, a former Baltimore Jewish Times reporter who interviewed the brothers on Dec. 6, 2010, after Eliyahu had been arrested, but before Avi was alleged to have been involved. The younger brother was charged in January 2011.

Jacobs wrote an article that day based on the interview saying Avi was in the car with Eliyahu when he confronted Ausby, but the published version did not mention the younger man. It's unclear who removed the name, though Jacobs said it was the paper's practice to show articles to sources for fact-checking purposes when warranted.

In an email sent months later to Assistant State's Attorney Kevin Wiggins, well after Avi was charged, Jacobs attached the draft version of the article, noting that "it's not going to win many dinner invitations with the Jewish community," but adding that his conscience required him to reveal the truth.

Jacobs, who said he is acquainted with the Werdesheim family, told the court that the brothers believed they would get more balanced and favorable coverage from him than from the mainstream local media, which had thus far produced a "great deal of bad press" on the incident.

Defense attorneys questioned how he knew Avi was in the car, claiming Jacobs made a false assumption when Eliyahu used the word "we" to describe the day's events. But Jacobs said he recalled Avi's name's being explicitly mentioned at least once and the rest was implied.

White ultimately found Jacobs' account credible and said the interview could be used to show a tacit admission by Avi of his placement in the car.

It doesn't look good for the Werdesheims.

Comments

[charlie runkel]

It's a pity thats lots of the members of Shomrim or Shmira have a need to walk around carrying a radio and having a cherry on the roof of their car. Regardless of what really happened here it's sad seeing these two young men in trial like this.

[JK2]

And even sadder for the real victim.

[BibleBeltJew]

JK2, how about if you walk around the streets of Charm City with a kipah on your head and your tzit tzit flying and report back to us about the "real victims".

[ad]

@BibleBeltJew. I live in the neighborhood in question and have done for 25 years. And if you're trying to imply that Jews are molested in this neighborhood on a regular basis, you are completely full of it. Stay in the Biblebelt

[AN]

@ad. You clearly don't live in Northwest Baltimore, or you live in a bubble. There are muggings of Jews by blacks in broad daylight quite often, bicycles are stolen regularly, and children are taunted on a daily basis.

[AN]

@ad. You clearly don't live in Northwest Baltimore, or you live in a bubble. There are muggings of Jews by blacks in broad daylight quite often, bicycles are stolen regularly, and children are taunted on a daily basis.

[BibleBeltJew]

AD, I believe AN has just served you a steaming bowl of STFU. Care to dispute? Right, didn't think so. Arguing that Charm City is safe for anyone indicates some serious issues with reality, or were you over-served on Shlivovotz? Either way, Bmore is a corrupt, crime-ridden hole, and proudly stating that you've lived in a hole for 25 years is no badge of honour, unless you are perchance a prairie dog. Roll Damn Tide.

[TheRealJoe]

Anyone know if the Baltimore Jewish community are standing behind these 2 boys paying legal fees etc or are they throwing them to the dogs????

[Suzanne]

These two brothers are completely innocent. This has been a media circus to inflame race relations from the beginning. It's also already been proven that the so called "victim" lied when he said one of the brothers broke his hand - it turned out to be an old wound when medically investigated. Oh, and they also found the board with a nail in it at the crime scene. Everything that was done was done in self defense but no good deed (the brothers were community watch members) goes unpunished.

[AN]

@therealjoe. The brothers' family is pretty well-off, and I have not heard of any fundraising for legal fees. The community is semi-split regarding non-financial support; however, most people are siding with them. A handful of others feel that Shomrim is just a group of wannabe cops who overstepped their authority.

[ad]

No, sorry about that BibleBelt Jew and AN. I do live in Northwest Baltimore very close to where this incident happened and very near to Park Heights Avenue (although I don't care to put my address out there). I walk and bicycle often in this neighborhood, during the day and evenings. We've had bicycles stolen on several occasions, but that's not such a big deal, not nearly as bad as being physically assaulted. And I personally witnessed Jewish children taunting some children from Cross Country Elementary School, who were definitely not Jewish.

So knock it off with the crap that Jewish people are always victims, and would never do anything wrong. We all know THAT isn't true, as one only has to read this blog to know that.

yet in 25 years seen a black person taunt someone Jewish,

[ad]

And guess what? Muggings happen to lots of people, not just Jews.

[ad]

BiblebeltJew. That was a statement of fact that I've lived in Baltimore for 25 years (actually longer); 25 years in Northwest Baltimore. I re-read what I wrote and I never used the word "proud" in the text.

[B-more Yid]

@ad

I'm not saying these boys are innocent but come on, to say that there has never been an incident worse than a bicycle theft (and as you put it no muggings of Jews) is simply naive. I personally know of one BT (school not frum status) boy who was assaulted on a Friday night at that very corner a few years ago. I know because I was the one who had to be meaver shabbos to call 911. He didn't need to be admitted but he did need out-patient treatment

Baltimore is not Detroit or East L.A. but if you don't act with some sechel bad things can happen.

[invhand]

Sometimes the postings on this site make sense. Sometimes the less people know the more aggressively they attack.
So here is a view from Baltimore from a native Baltimorean:
1) Crime is high. If BBJ and others want to stay away, fine with them. Lots of us like living here, for many reasons. Neighborhoods function, even if the city government stumbles.
You do not need a kippah to get hassled, but I am not sure it makes things any worse. You can be 23 and African American and waiting at a bus stop minding your own business when you get hassled.
2) Bikes are stolen in every neighborhood.
3) There are neighborhood watch programs in a bunch of neighborhoods. The orthodox community has by far the best organized watch program. No one patrols for any Neighborhood Watch without police backup.

Neighborhood watch people cannot get out of their cars and beat people up, not even people who "don't belong" and are "up to no good." We have public streets. Anyone can walk on those streets. Shomrim have to stay in their cars and call the police when they see something disturbing. If 2 or 3 men got out of their car and confronted the 'suspect' then they are probably going to get convicted. It doesn't matter whether their suspicions were 'legitimate' nor what the victim did when they confronted him, nor whether he was carrying a "nail studded board." Baltimore ain't Florida. They have to call the police and stay in their car.

So all of you who think that the beating is O.K. because someone you don't know must be a thug, and a young man with a kippah must shine with personal integrity, stay where you are. And if you live in Baltimore on an "Orthodox" street, move to Beit Shemesh. There are no private streets in Baltimore. There are no private police.
For all our problems, most of us in Bmore prefer it that way, have learned our way around, and a fair number of us have even learned to look at our actual neighbors rather than treat them as stereotypes. Some neighbors are great, reliable people. Some are trouble. But even the ones who are trouble have the right to walk down the street, and if the Werdesheim boys didn't know that, I think they do now.
Suzanne, BBJ, and some others still seem unclear about the concept.

[invhand]

Correction:
Living on a mostly "orthodox" street is fine. It is believing you have a right to keep outsiders off it that is the problem.

By the way, the non-orthodox organized Jewish community has mostly left the city. The orthodox have stayed, and city leaders and ordinary citizens are mostly happy they have stayed. It's a big city. We try to make room for everyone.

[Litvish]

Posted by: invhand

I live near but not in Baltimore and often visit.

Thanks for this comment. It is pretty accurate from what I have seen.

[Tangerine]

Rot in prison boys

[al]

@ Tangerine, you are obviously a bigoted idiot!
@ AN, your head out of your a_s, the family is so not well off, unless teachers get a lot more money than we thought. and regarding of community being split, it's not split pretty much everyone's behind them, the only ones that are not are the ones that are very critical of shomrim and that is only because they don't want to see all the things they do for the community or are upset about how much better they are and threaten the existence of the NWCP.