Crown Heights, NY – ‘Shomrim Six’ On Trial Ends in One Minor Conviction

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    Photo by crownheights.infoCrown Heights, NY – A jury acquitted five of six Orthodox Jews charged in a wild fracas – but found one guilty Wednesday of a simple misdemeanor.

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    All were facing as much as 15 years each on gang assault charges when their trial began five weeks ago.

    The brouhaha erupted inside a yeshiva when students from two different sects began battling over a bed in the dorm room. The sects have had a long-running argument over who they believe is the true messiah.

    Brooklyn jurors found one member of the local Shomrim guard group guilty of a single misdemeanor.

    “It was all a big waste of time,” said Nechemia Slatter, one of the so-called “Shomrim six” acquitted in the Dec. 29, 2007 dustup.

    “It’s the district attorney’s money,” said lawyer Joyce David, whose client, Chaim Hershkop, was also acquitted. “A lot of resources for nothing.”

    Many of the charges, including felony gang assault, were dismissed by Justice Albert Tomei before jurors began deliberating. Jurors took five hours to find all but Godi Hershkop not guilty.

    The case, which began when two groups in an Eastern Parkway yeshiva began fighting, revealed divides in the community over whether the late Rabbi Menachem Schneerson is the messiah.

    It also put Shomrim, criticized by some as too aggressive, on trial. All six vowed to stay with the group.

    Hershkop, 37, faces as much as a year in prison but defense lawyer Israel Fried, noting that his client will probably lose school bus driver job from the conviction, said he’ll probably not get any jail.

    “Community service?” Fried asked, “He’s already doing community service: he’s Shomrim.”


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    39 Comments
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    Supporter
    Supporter
    14 years ago

    Having been in the court I can say without a doubt the witnesses were liars. Thank G-d the jury didn’t believe them, but I am shocked Gadi Hershkop was convicted. It doesn’t make sense. Fortunately, we in CH know the truth & I am sure he won’t be out of work. I would hire him if I could, he is a man of integrity. I pray the judge goes easy on him.

    no justice, no peace
    no justice, no peace
    14 years ago

    this was a clear case of malicious prosecutions by the Brooklyn DA office. this case in it self should have never been tried given the evidence and credibility of the witnesses.alls. but their is a bigger conspiracy then just Paul huebner. the Brooklyn DA office maliciously went after the shomrim six. they made the jury belive things that never happened. i was there ant i was in shock when ADA David Weiss froze a part of the video and tried to show the jury how a shomrim member kicks a bochur in the balls. when in fact if you watch the whole picture on the video the leg that he wanted the jury to belive is actually the jacket of another shomrim member. this case will not rest until justice will be served. justice for the community, justice for shomrim. today’s win is not only a win for shomrim it is a win for the whole crown heights community

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    I like the idea he’s doin community service. By being shomrim

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Thats funny, Its exactly what the D.A. offerd them as a plea bargain, they could have taken it and not gone thru the last 2 months in court.

    Thinking of you Gadi
    Thinking of you Gadi
    14 years ago

    Wow, that is quite a victory and for Gadi, we all daven for you and know your are in the right! Hatzlocho!

    Sad Day for all jews
    Sad Day for all jews
    14 years ago

    7 people who may look like jews and 2 ada who have jewish last name try to convice 12 member of the jury of the lies thy made up fotunately no one belived all this lies
    and this 7 mossrim should be prosecuted for lying under oath.
    and Dov Heikind should be ashame of himself

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    If you want to be a Police Officer why not just apply to the academy and become a real full fledged Law Enforcement Officer instead of a “Want To Be” Have the courage to step up apply for the job and go throiugh the academy like the rest of us did. That way you don’t have to be make beleive and you can have real lights & sirens! Do you have what it takes? If you do then make the commitment, if not stop playing policeman.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    I live next door it was puting a mattres in someone room on a floor that started the whole thing. sad

    yiddel
    yiddel
    14 years ago

    Fella’s, i wish this case was so simple, maybe these Giborim should start using their strength to beat up the real criminals roaming the streets of CH instead of starting or even mixing in to fights with fellow jews, maybe if they started minding their own business and not trying to mix into community politics, maybe then they wont have to be so busy in supreme court.
    Also, if i may remind everyone, are these Shomrim “victims” not the same people who just not too long ago were viciously pursuing the DA to try to lock up a fellow yid who was actually trying to protect the community? was that Mesira forgotten, or was this court-case just Hashem’s reminder to them that Hey -you aint getting away with that… Hopefully they learned a good lesson!

    to # 2
    to # 2
    14 years ago

    why would they plea if they are 100 % inocent? so the it should always be known that “hey they were realy guilty” they did the right thing.

    corrupt judge
    corrupt judge
    14 years ago

    The judge was persuaded by the “higher ups” of the anti-meshichist’s to not allow the jury to convict as the article states. If not for the aleged Judge_Jury_Tampering, the gury would have convicted this entire Hershkop GANG as a real Gang which they are known in CH as “the Shomrim Gang”.

    the gury would have
    the gury would have
    14 years ago

    the jury were all shomrim members

    Snagged
    Snagged
    14 years ago

    Not even Milhouse can spin his way out of this one.

    Crown Heights is a complete mess, and this time, instead of the violence coming from outside the community, it’s internecine. This is the state that the Rebbe left his flock in when he died/disappeared (delete as applicable).

    If you want to take credit for what he achieved in his lifetime, you have to apportion blame for what he left behind. A despicable, ugly, rudderless mess.

    #12
    #12
    14 years ago

    But you know, it seems that Hashem has his ways, and all i was trying to say was that maybe it’s just a little payback note from Hashem, to say that you know, your not going to get away so easy with Maasering on a poor Yasom who did nothing to you and wouldn’t harm a fly, i know it must of really hurt you, punkt, all of a sudden when a Shocher kid gets nipped and dosent get a bruise, that realy bothered you all !!, i mean i wish it bothered you so much when a Yiddishe kid gets hurt, maybe if it bothered you that much, maybe you wouldn’t get into this whole fight to begin with… Hashem yerachem, I hope it’s not too late, i hope you didnt ruin someone’s life over your evil political petty disagreements..Hashem gives all of us chances, You guys still have time to grow up from your Yodayim Yedei Esav cruel lifestyle and may hashem have mercy on us all and forgive all the wrongdoers, and may they all quit their immature Rish’us, get lives of meaning, do tshuva and may that usher in the coming of the messianic era b’meheira.
    p.s. the truth won’t bend no matter how many of you come and comment, i urge anyone interested in the real facts of all the garbage, not to rely on what’s online.

    to #27- Snagged
    to #27- Snagged
    14 years ago

    Sorry. Millhouse is correct. The Taliban does not represent most of us here in crown heights or Lubavitch. I was born and raised here and I live here now. This .001% (maybe less) of Chabad Lubavitch does not represent what the Rebbe left behind. Contrary to your claim the “despicable, ugly, rudderless mess” is not the legacy our Rebbe left us with. If you want to see the Lubavitch that the Rebbe raised, go watch the Shluchim’s convention -it was live online here on VIN just three weeks ago. You can get a copy of it too. These are the people that attended the Rebbe’s farbrengens back in the day, went to him for dollars, and sought his advice when he was alive.These are his followers. The tiny fringe group of radicals are young guys who never met, saw, or spoke to the Rebbe.
    On a side note, did you know that Ahavas Hashem, Ahavas Hatorah, and Ahavas Yisroel go hand-in-hand? If you don’t have one, you don’t have any! Oh, you didn’t know? Okay, but I’m telling you now.

    Stop the messianists!
    Stop the messianists!
    14 years ago

    The messianists cooked up some nonsense story that they were “brutalized” by the shomrim. In fact, the shomrim were called to protect a non messianist boy from being attacked by a huge group of messianists.

    The messianists are not chabad. Chabad rejects them.

    to yiddel #12, #28
    to yiddel #12, #28
    14 years ago

    you said that you urge people not to rely on whats online for the facts. Well, I was unsure if I believed that Shomrim was completely innocent. If they were, how would there be a case in court? So, I chose to become an “informed” citizen, and I took the train to court one bright sunny morning. And, boy was I surprised. This case was total stupidity. They showed a video taken of the fight. The only ones being wild, aggressive, and violent were the bochurim who were now prosecuting the shomrim members. It was unreal. These mossrim put their own selves at stake, in order to hurt fellow Jews. They put themselves at risk because, clearly, they were the gang that was fighting- and now if Shomrim chooses they can use their video against them. ( I hope they do). This is worse than suing McDonalds for making you fat- it is total ludicrous. Shomrim come to a call to help, and they sue? I’m going to take my dentist to court because he hurt me- he pulled my tooth because I had an infection.
    .

    enough mesira's, enough fights.
    enough mesira's, enough fights.
    14 years ago

    ie; everybody = all the well informed people who do not subscribe to any particular political affiliation nor are affiliated with any of the parties involved, just fact-finders…, a proper upstanding citizen should not believe these libels and scandalous stories the way he reads them online, but rather he should find out from well informed and more importantly m-a-t-u-r-e people in the community, who really know whats going on…. ALL sides to a story… May we only have B’suros Tovos, and Shalom al yisrael, enough fights and Tzaros.