Malaika Fraley and Karl Fischer, Contra Costa Times (California), October 29, 2009
Clad in a bulletproof vest and sporting a black eye, 16-year-old Ari Morales rose with his two underage co-defendants in Contra Costa Superior Court in Richmond and heard allegations pronounced that could land him behind bars for life.
The court arraigned Morales and two other suspects—15-year-old Cody Ray Smith and 17-year-old Marcelles Peter—as adults this morning in connection with Saturday’s campus gang-rape outside the Richmond High School homecoming dance that left a 15-year-old girl hospitalized for days.
“All of the factors point to no other decision than that they be tried as adults,” said Dara Cashman of the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, who heads its Family Violence
Prevention Unit. “There’s something about the coldness of it . . . the attitude of both the people involved, and the people who saw or knew about it. It’s just very cold.”
A fourth defendant, 19-year-old Manuel Ortega, appeared separately for arraignment on charges of robbery, assault causing great bodily injury, rape in concert and an enhancement that makes him eligible for life in prison. The minors, each charged with rape with a foreign object, also could be eligible for life sentences if convicted; Morales also is charged with robbery.
Judge Peter A. Berger held all without bail. Only the babyfaced Smith entered a plea at the hearing: not guilty. All four are scheduled to return to court next week.
{snip}
Cashman said her office will consider charging a fifth suspect, 21-year-old Salvador Rodriguez, arrested Tuesday night. Police continue to search for additional suspects, Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan said.
The victim left the hospital Wednesday night, Cashman said. This newspaper does not identify victims of sexual assault without their consent.
A crowd turned out at the courthouse on 37th Street this morning to watch the arraignment. Several young women in the audience wore lavender ribbons, they said to represent their support for the victim.
Others came to support their loved ones among the accused.
“If they give him a life sentence, I guarantee the city of Richmond will be sued. I will sue the pants off them,” said Monica Peter, aunt of Marcelles Peter. “Trust me when I say he was just walking by.”
The younger Peter, a senior at North Campus High School on the Richmond High campus, is black. His aunt said she believes his enthicity played a role in his arrest.
“He’s a very good kid, never had any problems. He said he was just walking by. He said he heard something, but he just kept moving,” Peter said.
{snip}
Original article
Email
Malaika Fraley
at mfraley@bayareanewsgroup.com .
(Posted on October 29, 2009)
Comments
It is always the same isn’t it. Whenever one of these guys gets caught, the comments are always “He’s a very good kid, never had any problems. He said he was just walking by,” he was starting to turn his life around, he was planning on starting to visit more often his 3 children by 3 different baby mommas, he was planning to be a rap star or maybe a NBA player, or a cop. Such a tragedy for such a promising youth and a member of the local Baptist church. If only white racism hadn’t driven him to do this, blah, blah, blah.
What is the legal status of the suspects? I would bet that some of the suspects are illegal aliens. The SF Bay area is being transformed(in a very negative way)by a massive invasion of third world people. Iam planning to move back to the mountains to get away this invasion. Donald (retired college instructor and former cop)
“He’s a very good kid, never had any problems. He said he was just walking by. He said he heard something, but he just kept moving,” Peter said.
Yes, we’ll see. It’ll be interesting to see what the DNA evidence is.
If he “heard something”, why didn’t he DO SOMETHING? He could have kept going, and then called the police anonymously to avoid retaliation, but no…
Greater still is why did it take so long for someone to call for help?
In another take on this story, seeing the names “Ari Morales” and “Manuel Ortega” just makes you warm and fuzzy with “Hispanic Family Values”, doesn’t it?
Really Ms. Peter? You will sue the city if your nephew gets life VS say 25 to 30 for “just walking by” ? Give me a break lady. In case you didn’t know, there are several witnesses to this horrific crime, and I know the police didn’t just arrest some random black kid from the HS. The race card will not help you here. I’m sure one or more people placed him there, actively involved in this brutal assualt. But thank you so much for your concern over the traumatized young girl, whose life has been forever altered.
I think this fact should cast a diferent light on the crime for
Here’s a video of two white girls at the school addressing the dangerous position of the white minority there:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/29/california.rape.victim.friend/index.html
His aunt said she believes his enthicity played a role in his arrest.
“He’s a very good kid, never had any problems. He said he was just walking by. He said he heard something, but he just kept moving,” Peter said.
Anyone who’s read Bonfire of the Vanities knows that an opportunistic reporter can frequently turn a thrill-seeking menace into an “honor student” without batting an eye, especially if he thinks it’s good for the “cause.”
“he was just walking by.”
We at AmRen need to always base our statements on facts. It may very well be true that the victim in this case is White. But let’s wait for the facts.
The easiest way to lose an argument (or a court case) is to be caught in an un-truth.
Also, once your opponent utters a lie or inaccuracy, then you should pounce on that lie and stay on it until the opponent is totally discredited.
Good luck on getting convictions given the demographics of the area. A lot of blacks in the jury pool long ago have quit enforcing white man’s law against one of their own. OJ trial just reinforced this attitude. Too many blacks in prison you know, put there by racism, naturally. Mexicans are probably the same way.
Guess Texas didn’t get the message, they still execute blacks routinely. This is like giving the big middle finger to liberals, but the state has become a big fat target for these bleeding heart fools. As soon as the Supreme Dorks are loaded with a couple more “minorities”, out goes the juicer along with the second amendment.
From a post on AMREN’s following story about this crime, the victim is white. And accordingly she had a couple of black boyfriends at one time or another.
If true, bet her parents are great diversity mongers and probably paraded their daughter around in public escorted by her black to show the world how non racist they were. Probably drive an electric car plastered with Obama’s mug and Save the Whales etc bumper stickers.
Obama is to blame. According to multiple surveys, he has done little to nothing to improve race relations. This is a white female raped by minorities. Will Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson show up? The fact is blacks and Hispanics/Latino’s are secretly gloating, “Good, we got the white girl.” Sad but true.
Minorities do not see raping a white woman as wrong. Period. As proof, I guarantee Obama, Jackson, and Sharpton will not show up in Richmond to protest. Pelosi will probably apologize to the minorities for the fact a 15 year old white girl was drinking underage and setting a bad example.
“In another take on this story, seeing the names “Ari Morales” and “Manuel Ortega” just makes you warm and fuzzy with “Hispanic Family Values” — Techno Dan
Abdullah Morales (it’s in the CNN story). Another blessing of Diversity that we’re supposed to, uh, “celebrate”.
Who wrote this story anyway? Oh, someone named Malaika.
What I want to know is: What is the responsibility of the District Administration and School Administration in all of this? Where was the security at the dance that allowed this student to leave the dance without proper authorization? At other high schools dance chaperones and security would not allow a student to leave without an authorized adult to pick them up. What happened here? And, where was the Richmond Police Department presence at an event that had the potential for trouble?
Didn’t any of the witnesses report back to the dance that there was a big problem outside? How could anybody watch for 2 hours and not do something especially considering the proficiency with texting that our young people are said to have!
And finally, to what extent were illegals involved, I ask this based on the fact that illegal crime is rampant in this country and some of these offenders were not high school students and we know that the MS13 (and other?) gang members are reported to have a presence in Richmond.
When are the people we put our trust in going to do the right thing?
I think teenagers wo do this kind of thing should always be tried as adults. That seems to be the only way they can be dealt with.
François:
In many American states during the 1990s, there was a successful move to weaken the juvenile justice system so that certain teenagers of certain ages who were accused of certain kinds of crimes would be charged as adults. Nobody would admit it, but race was the underlying reason — black (and Hispanic) teenagers are, *relative to their selves*, more mature than white teenagers, and almost entirely developed *relative to their selves* as they will be. What I said was not a fact lost on Prof. Michael Levin in his book Why Race Matters, available at AR’s bookstore.
Richmond Gang Rape photos:
http://www.examiner.com/ExaminerSlideshow.html?entryid=708531&slide=1
Are there any white civil rights groups anyway? If not I would sure love to be a part of organizing one. Just as all of us whites who can see the truth, the perception of all minorities that all whites are wealthy, had a part in the slavery in America,have had easy non difficult lives, etc. and blah blah blah.My parents worked hard to give us the life we had growing up. I footed the bill for my college education. Ive never had a hand out from anyone and do not expect it.This madness has to stop and is going to explode. Why are they so hell bent on infiltrating the whites and want to rule over us? Minorities have more opportunites than any white people today. It scares me for the future of my children. We need a voice but how do we get there without being acused of racism and hate ourselves? I want my white magazine,tv station and everything they have. I truly do not hate other races and have had friends of color throughout my life but now wonder really how they do view me.
