Baltimore, MD – One brother was convicted and the other was exonerated Thursday in the 2010 beating of a black teenager they encountered while patrolling as watch volunteers in their Orthodox Jewish neighborhood.
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Judge Pamela White ruled from the bench against Eliyahu and Avi Werdesheim, 24 and 22. They opted for a bench trial after withdrawing a motion to move their trial because of publicity comparing their case to the fatal shooting of black Florida teen Trayvon Martin.
Both were charged with false imprisonment, second-degree assault and carrying a deadly weapon with intent to injure. The judge found Eliyahu not guilty of the weapon charge and cleared Avi on all three.
They had no visible reaction when the verdict was read, though Eliyahu’s wife ran from the courtroom in tears. They could have faced up to 13 years if convicted on all three charges.
Prosecutors said the brothers attacked the teen, hitting him with a radio and holding him on the ground. But Eliyahu testified that he acted in self-defense when the teen attacked him with a nail-studded plank and said his brother wasn’t involved in the fight. The judge rejected Eliyahu’s claim of self-defense.
Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Wiggins told the judge the then-15-year-old boy lived in the neighborhood with his grandmother. He was walking to the bus stop in 2010 to meet his mother for a doctor’s appointment when he noticed two men in a red sports coupe watching him.
When one of the men told the teen that he didn’t belong in the neighborhood, he felt scared and armed himself with a board. The car left, but when it came back, the teen threw down the stick as the men got out and confronted him.
The prosecutor said Eliyahu grabbed him and Avi hit him in the head, creating a wound that required two staples. Once a third person arrived on the scene, stepping on the teen’s hand when he reached for the phone in his pocket, the Werdesheims left.
Wiggins struggled to get the now 16-year-old teen to speak on the witness stand about the incident. The emotional teen’s words were inaudible and he frequently put his head down in his lap. Finally, he stood, declaring that he shouldn’t have called police and he wouldn’t testify anymore. The teen was excused and his testimony stricken from the record, but his 911 call recording was allowed.
Sgt. John Jackson, the Baltimore police district’s patrol supervisor at the time, testified that he found the teen upset, bleeding from a gash on the back of his head and disheveled with leaves and dirt on his clothes. Jackson quickly became frustrated with members of the Shomrim of Baltimore watch group, because he believed they were not being truthful. Though he asked them to have the two men involved in the incident return to the scene, the men did not come back, he said.
After days of conflicting accounts from several witnesses for the state and defense, including Shomrim members, Eliyahu took the stand Wednesday and shared his own version of events, explaining that he acted in self-defense. He testified that he was headed home around midday that Friday with his brother, Avi, when he responded to a suspicious person report he heard on the Shomrim radio. He found the teen looking into windows of homes and trying the door of an SUV, he said.
Once the teen saw him, Eliyahu said he got out to explain that he was with the neighborhood watch and was keeping an eye on him because he had seen the teen walking in people’s yards. Avi, who was not a Shomrim member, told the teen he belonged in school, but the teen replied that he didn’t have school and seemed upset, he said. The teen turned away and pulled a plank from a nearby wooden pallet, carrying it with him.
Eliyahu testified that he worried that the situation could get bad and he decided to draw on de-escalation skills he learned in the Israeli military, hoping to reassure the agitated teen that he was just a neighborhood watch member.
But when he got out of the car and began to speak, Werdesheim testified the teen sprinted at him, raising the nail-studded board. He said he couldn’t run or get back in his car, so he deflected the board with his left arm and hit the teen in the head with his right hand, which still held his radio. The teen hit the ground. He and attorney Andrew Alperstein re-enacted the exchange for the judge using a replica board.
Other Shomrim members ran up and one told the brothers to leave, so they did, he said.
The trial drew spectators from the area’s Jewish community and black community activists to the small courtroom. Several speakers at a recent rally noted similarities with the Trayvon Martin case: Both involved black teens who were approached by neighborhood watch volunteers who felt they looked suspicious or didn’t belong in the neighborhood.
Oh how I long for the GOOD old days in williamsburg! Those lovely chaptzem’s, the beatings, anybody with a hand & a foot contribute to the fun! And guess what, the crime rate fell drastically.
And what is the sentence for Eliyahu ??
Very fair judgement and it could have been so much worse.
Any idea as to how many years this innocent man might face?? He was only found guilty cause of being Jewish , when really is self defense A defense for a Jew ?
As soon that I found out the Judge is a white woman i sensed trouble, she would have to show a lot of guts to let him go free and not be afraid of a racial backlash.
Since the victim himself chose not to testify against the accused, one must agree the decision was political rather than judicial.
Baltimorian, good analysis. you are probably right.
Wow sad but interesting outcome I am guessing he won’t get a Jail sentence but his medical school dreams are out.
This is outrageous. This guy should be on trial for attacking them with a nail-studded plank. All they used is a radio, in self-defense.
Convicted?!
I think that’s a hate crime……
These Brother’s where looking to get themselves in Truoble, they should never have gotten out of their car, just call the Police and wait in the car, thier lives where not at danger in their car.
sentencing is June 27th and I do not believe that he will be serving jail time, (inside information..)
#5 ,
Your sure he was innocent? That he did NOTHING wrong? Get your head out of the sand. Not every Jew is prosecuted just because he is a Jew.
Its simple this case has much bigger ramifications then just Baltimore, had both brother’s been convicted CH”V, this would allow local and federal DA’s to announce open season on all Shomrim/Shmira’s + other local community patrols, finding the smallest reasons to mess them up while the local cops continue to eat donuts. If they would both be found NOT Guilty, this would have hopefully put to an end this love affair prosecutors have with charging community volunteer’s with serious charges in very simple regular street altercations. The out come in this case (split) I guess leaves the issue up in the air till Moshiach comes, hopefully good people won’t be scared to volunteer in the community.
Shoimrim in the Big (rotten) Apple don’t approach people. They observe and if a crime IS being committed, they contact local police who are quick to respond and determine if an arrest is warranted. I still don’t get why they provoked him…Reading through the countless versions of this story, I didn’t see ANYWHERE that he had actually committed any crime – unless walking thru a white neighborhood is a crime.
all you lower taxes advocates read this story. Had there been a police squad car the whole story would nt have occurred
To wife of Eli,
I think your husband is a very fine man from my following of the case, and I’m sure Hashem will send a yeshuah. I never met your husband personally, but I would trust my instincts of his fine character more than a judge who had the political pressure of potential unrest (if not riots) if there was to be a full acquittal. I hope you gather the strength necessary in this difficult time.
Boruch
Crown Heights, NY
This is a correct decision that will hopefully send a forceful message to those who think they can act like a bunch of vigilantes. Hopefully, it will deter any future assaults by these local “protection” groups who take it upon themselves to exercise police powers. I hope the prison sentence will convey that message. Its not clear why the other brother was exonerated but we should respect the judge’s decision under our system of law.
All Shomrim professionals, have to understand a very important part of the volunteer job.
As being part of pursuant of justice and goodwill.
Emotions take over the human intellect, when burnout overloads. As a result unprofessional behavior kicks in. A suggestion would be; to create a cool down period for the active members, it will save you a lot of trouble down the road. PSTD (Post Traumatic Stress Dibriefibg) is a good way to get the members to talk it out.
pathetic world w live in!
Well, if you wait for the police to show up an hour after you call them or never, you can be dead by then or the criminal is long gone. And then they don’t even want to file a police report. All they’re good for is giving tickets & harassing Occupy Wall St. protesters.
All Shomrim professionals, have to understand a very important part of the volunteer job.
As being part of pursuant of justice and goodwill.
Emotions take over the human intellect, when burnout overloads. As a result unprofessional behavior kicks in. A suggestion would be; to create a cool down period for the active members, it will save you a lot of trouble down the road. PSTD (Post Traumatic Stress Dibriefibg) is a good way to get the members to talk it out.
The only solution is camcorders. It worked in the past, why not progress with this technology. It’s legal, could use it at debriefings, suspect will plead guilty before court with presenting evidence. Who is willing to donate for this cause?
Thank G-d for some perspective like #1 & #28 . Living in Crown Heights I & my family have been mugged & assaulted countless times. My finger is on Shomrim’s number. They show up & do something (the last time was protecting me from an angry mob of Blacks after I was rear-ended!) The police actually blamed me for being there, on the road.
I hope this young man escapes jail. It’s a travesty he was convicted in the first place. Go Shomrim!
How come there is no up-roar about the way the first guy in the video labels them as “The Jewish Brothers ” if they were black he wouldn’t of said ” the black brothers ”
shame on ABC
I like how no one questions how this innocent saint just happened to conveniently find a nail-studded board to use as a weapon…
Do you want to know how many instances of jews assaulted by blacks in baltimore took place this week alone? At least 4.
As a proud wife of a Baltimore Shomrim member I am very emotionally involved. In fact my views are so controversial that our own local jewish sites refuse to post any of my comments. What this trial has shown is really how pathetic this town is .We pay the most amount of taxes in our area yet we have NO cops here. The garbage from the ghetto comes into our area, steals, attacks, robs, etc etc. The harsh reality is that this town is made up of takers. Everyone is so quick to call Shomrim for anything, yet in a situation like this there was zero support. Not only was there no outcry but people had the nerve to complain! I’ve read comments of “big deal, so he was looking in houses and tried to get into cars, he would have stolen what he wanted, and there would be no chilul Hashem” well what if this low life wasn’t looking to steal?!? what if he came to “Jew town” (As they call it) and was looking for a young girl or woman at home to rape? Then, it would have been an uproar of “Shomrim doesn’t do enough to protect us”. Did they refer to my Husband as a “vigilante” when he stopped a man who was already inside a house where the family was sleeping?? or how about when
(continued) they got the kids bike back who was punched in the face and thrown off his bike? the list goes on. And for those who say “They should stay in their cars” its pretty hard to find missing people including those who are mentally ill when you can’t get out of your car…or to stop the guy whos about to kill himself. Whomever would like to make this into a racial thing, you’re right on the money, though its not whites against blacks its about protecting Yidden. What the press doesn;t tell you is that for years we’ve had a black non Jewish member. Or that a guy that my husband had arrested and sent to jail showed up at our house one shabbos to thank my husband for setting him on the right path, and needed his help because there is no one in his community interested in helping others. Where were all the Baltimore Rabbis to organize a rally? they sure knew how to make a rally when the JCC was starting to open on shabbos. Surely the fate of fellow Yidden who were only trying to protect us is worthy of at the very least that effort. This town makes me sick.