10 Lynners among dozen arraigned in Boston beating death

BOSTON – A group of 12 mostly tuxedo-clad local men who allegedly beat a man to death outside of a Boston nightclub Friday were held on high cash bail Monday after being arraigned in Boston Municipal Court.The men charged with aggravated assault and battery include Ramona Berroa, 28; Justin Cooke, 25; Michael Welch, 27; Ruskyn Garcia, 25; Jonathan Fernandez, 23; Johan Garcia, 28; Jose Castro, 22; Jorge Encarnacion, 26; Jason Benalfew, 26, and Ramon Llavona, 38, all of Lynn, along with Anthony Villaobos, 21, of Revere and Michael Flaquer, 25, of Malden.Judge Michael Coyne set bail at $100,000 for all of the men except Llavona, who also goes by the name Frank Martinez – an identity that was discovered during a search for interstate warrants that revealed an extensive criminal record. Llavona’s bail was set at $200,000 and Ruskyn Garcia’s open bail was revoked on an Essex County drug trafficking case.Police say the victim, Jose Alicea, 22, of Hyde Park, was removed from life support Monday after being hospitalized for severe head trauma at Massachusetts General Hospital.Alicea was found lying on the sidewalk outside of Club 33 on Stanhope Street suffering from his injuries at approximately 2:30 a.m. Friday.Nine of the men were wearing black tuxedos with red vests at the time of the attack after attending the funeral of their friend Enrique “Kiko” Fortuna of Lynn, who died last week in a motorcycle accident on Lynnfield Street.They were found nearby in a white stretch limousine.Assistant District Attorney Cory Flashner said Alicea was at the nightclub with a small group of his own friends and that there wasn’t any trouble inside the establishment. Around 2:30 a.m., Friday, however, as the club was closing, Alicea had a conversation with some of the defendants that turned into a verbal altercation.?Mr. Alicea was set upon by the defendants and was severely beaten,” Flashner said. “Mr. Alicea was left in the street bleeding.”Of the 14 male occupants detained by police, 12 were identified at the scene as having taken part in the beating.?Significant portions of the incident were captured on video from cameras directed at the street and mounted on nearby buildings,” Flashner said.Authorities did not disclose a motive. All 12 defendants will return to court on Sept. 4 for a pre-trial conference.