Lynn beating suspects back in court

LYNN – The savage beating of a Guatemalan immigrant in Lynn last July 22, allegedly by a pack of local boys ranging in age from 11 to 14, has stirred words of outrage from national anti-hate groups.Five of the six suspects, who have been barred from returning to school pending disposition of the case, were back in Juvenile Court on Thursday. The proceedings were not made public because of the boys’ ages.The boys were in court with their attorneys and those cases were continued to Dec. 3 for a pre-trial hearing. The sixth and oldest boy has been in state Division of Youth Services custody since his arrest and is expected to return to Juvenile Court on Oct. 9. The district attorney’s office has been reviewing whether to try him as an adult.The boys have been charged with attempted murder and civil rights violations.The victim, Damian Merida, 30, who lived with his mother, Teofila, and other relatives in a cramped Lynn apartment, was attacked with rocks, sticks and bottles as he slept in woods near the commuter railroad tracks abutting Robert McManus Field.Merida, a landscaper and laborer, was near death when taken to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston. Listed in serious condition, he remained under intensive care for weeks. He was eventually transferred to a Tewksbury rehabilitation center where his prognosis for recovery is dimmed by extensive brain damage. On Thursday, Merida’s condition worsened and medical complications sent him back to MGH, according to his sister-in-law, Maria Gonzales of Lynn.”He is not doing very well,” she said. “Now he has to go again to Boston. We pray that the doctors can help him. It’s a bad situation because Damian supported his mother who is very sick and can barely work.”Lynn Police Lt. William Sharpe said Merida was targeted because of his ethnic background.”This brutal beating is yet another example of how immigrants continue to be singled out for violent attacks simply because of where they are from,” said Derrek Shulman, New England regional director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). “When a victim is targeted in this way, it affects the entire community. We applaud the Lynn Police Department and Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett for their handling of the case.”The incident led the news media and many residents to pressure East Lynn Pop Warner League officials to remove four of the boys in question from their respective teams. A Juvenile Court judge previously ordered the boys released on bail to wear electronic monitoring devices on their ankles.The suspects, who have not been publicly identified, live on Fosdick Terrace, Flint Street, Henry Avenue, Grant Street, Union Place and Hutchins Court.The Damian Merida Medical Fund has been established in the victim’s behalf at Sovereign Bank and donations can be made to any branch office. Merida, living illegally in the United States for the past 15 years, had no health insurance. So far, the family has been able to eliminate one medical bill for $3,000 and contributions are still trickling in. “The other bill from MGH we cannot pay because it is too big,” Gonzales said. “We have no way to do that.”Diego Portillo, president of the Latino Professional Network (LPN), said the incident has left many stunned. “The brutality of this crime is shocking enough, but it is made even more dramatic by the young age of the suspects. Incidents like this are sad reminders that hate continues to exist and spread to our youth,” he said.Portillo, who noted that the ADL and LPN share the belief “that it is critical for our communities to come together to speak out and to take action against bigotry and intimidation and to fight racism and hate crimes with education, respect and understanding.”Lynn police said the unprovoked attack on Merida was not the first on a Guatemalan immigrant in the city in recent months. Gonzales said another Guatemalan man was assaulted by a group of boys in the same vicinity but did not come forward because he