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I'm sure the fine people at the Star-Tribune would consider their reporting of the story as "making the news."
http://www.startribune.com/local/25472764.html
A woman whose husband was severely beaten trying to protect his daughter from being molested as the family left Valleyfair said Tuesday they remain traumatized and are still healing from bruises and injuries.
Eight young men are accused of taking turns stomping on and kicking the head of the 41-year-old man, who was knocked unconscious as his wife and three daughters tried to help him. Prosecutors say more serious charges could be brought against the men if the man's injuries are permanent.
"He is hanging in there," said his wife, who asked that the family not be identified out of fear for their safety. She didn't recognize their attackers: "I never seen them a day before in my life."
Shakopee police said serious felony assaults are unusual at the amusement park, which normally has a handful of misdemeanor assaults each summer. The park said Tuesday that 22 security guards were on duty the evening of the assault, July 4, when the fair closed at midnight, and that safety is a priority.
Police arrested seven of the suspects in the Valleyfair parking lot that night and the eighth escaped. Police did not have a good description of that suspect but would like help finding him.
Six men and a 14-year-old boy were charged July 8 with third-degree felony assault. More serious charges, and possibly a sex assault charge, may be filed after police finish their investigation, Scott County Attorney Patrick Ciliberto said Tuesday.
"This type of violence cannot be accepted in our community," he said. "We had a family at the fair enjoying the holiday. Behavior like this is personal to our community."
Ciliberto said Valleyfair has had "no assault of this magnitude" since he took office in 2002. He said the father was taken to Ridges Hospital in Burnsville for a fractured eye socket bone and other injuries. His office was told Monday that doctors were waiting for the man's swelling to subside before checking for permanent injuries, which could justify more serious charges.
The couple was nearing the exit gate with their three daughters at about midnight on July 4, when two young men approached and slapped the youngest girl, about 12, on her buttocks. Her father yelled at the men, one of whom pulled out a cell phone and called for others to join in on the assault.
The wife said she and her daughters tried to protect her husband, and are still recovering from being punched. Her husband has been home from the hospital for a week .
She said she couldn't say more for fear of hurting the prosecution's case.
The assault "was an isolated incident. This has not happened before," said Valleyfair spokeswoman Rachel Onken. "We are a very safe park." She said the guards handled the incident as they were trained and no immediate security changes are planned.
Shakopee Police Capt. Jeff Tate said Valleyfair has "a skirmish once in a while. We usually don't see anything escalate like this." He said park security officers do a good job and that this is the only felony assault this year. He said a domestic assault occurred in the Valleyfair parking lot in May and two juveniles were charged in June with disorderly conduct and misdemeanor assault.
One of the suspects, Darris D. Evans, allegedly punched a man in the face as the group left the unconscious father. Evans, 20, of Brooklyn Park, is charged with a misdemeanor assault for that offense, Tate said.
Besides Evans, five other men and an unnamed juvenile were charged with third-degree felony assault. The five are Derry D. Evans, 19, Minneapolis; Devondre Evans-Lewis, 18, of Columbia Heights; Terry L. Arnold, 22, Brooklyn Park; Andrew D. Shannon, 19, of Minneapolis, and Anthony C. Gildersleeve, 20, Edina.
Bail was set at $40,000 to $60,000 each and all the suspects posted bail bonds, a jail official said.
A check of state records show that two of the suspects have prior felony charges. Arnold and Evans-Lewis were arrested in an Eagan pros ution sting and charged in April with promoting pros ution in Dakota County. Arnold pleaded guilty in May. Arnold also was convicted of two misdemeanor assaults in 2005 and 2006.
Gildersleeve was convicted in March 2008 of carrying a pistol without a permit in a public place, a misdemeanor. Derry Evans was convicted of escaping from custody in January 2008. He was also convicted in May 2008 of disorderly conduct, a gross misdemeanor.
Staff writer Abby Simons contributed to this report. Jim Adams • 612-673-7658
I'm sure the fine people at the Star-Tribune would consider their reporting of the story as "making the news."
Is it the first you heard of it?
According to the OP's logic, here's another story that "didn't make the news." http://www.startribune.com/local/257...al%20+%20Metro
No, I live in the twin cities and remember this being reported on all local TV stations and being reported in the local paper for several days.
Why would this be national news?
I though all news was local news. Or, is it politics?
The Duke Lacrosse team was nat'l news and it was a crime that never even happened.
So, the national media should run stories everytime there is an alleged mass assault of an individual?
If anything, one would think that the crazy reporting on the Duke Lacrosse case has taught the media not to go berserk over stories like this one.
But that wouldn't fit your narrative, would it?
Oh well, these fine upstanding gentlemen will probably die before age 35 anyway.
a crime that couldn't be proven at least.
well, that should help you sleep better at night.
You don't read much, do you?
I read the Star-Tribune.
Seriously, are you arguing that the media should devote national attention to every crime in which multiple persons are alleged to have attacked a single person? Every time someone gets rolled by a group, that should be a national story?
I agree with you that the Duke Lacrosse case was an example of a media that sensationalized a story and got caught with its pants down in the end. But the fact that the media behaved so boorishly in that cir stance suggests to me that it should be more restrained going forward, not that it should now sensationalize every story that might be kind of like what was alleged to have happened in Durham.
Plus, it's somewhat understandable that an alledged crime involving a group of athletes from a well-known and respected university would merit national news coverage.
I think the OP is trying to suggest that there is some sort of racial double-standard at play with these two stories, but he would have a better case if the incident he posted involved a white woman accusing the Grambling football team of assault. I have a hard time believing a story like that would be under-reported nationally.
the victim wasn't young, pretty, and female. yawn
oops, forgot "blond"
Last edited by boutons_; 07-22-2008 at 01:07 PM.
Why have I heard of some guy named Joe Horn, that killed two illegal aliens burglarizing a home?
Because some dumbass posted it here, most likely.
like this makes me sick. Where were all the bystanders to stomp these little pansies out before the poor man got serious injuries just trying to protect his daughter? If I ever witnessed something like this I promise bullets would fly until every last attacker was off that man. I don't know if I'm more upset about what happened or the fact that no one stood up for the guy.
What kind of sick slaps a 12 year old on the butt?
I agree with you. I don't see how people could stand around and watch that happen.
I can't fathom, back when I was 18-20 yrs old, approaching some family (regardless of their race) and slapping their 12 yr old daughter on the ass. WTF is that?
I'm sure these guys will get much worse done to their asses when they go to prison.
The national media obliterated its own credibility with the Duke lacrosse case. It could not resist the sensational value of indulging the meme of "rich people who think they are above the law being brought to task." They abrogated their responsibility.
The result was another chunk taken out of the pillar of media credibility. The upshot for our society is that people have another reason to indulge their confirmation biases and avoid thinking critically, which is one of the things that ultimately will dissolve the country.
However, it would be just as irresponsible to indulge the meme of "blacks are feral predators who will attack you and your family." The confirmation bias for that meme is not exactly lacking in greater suburbia.
"Why have I heard of some guy named Joe Horn, that killed two illegal aliens burglarizing a home?"
The Joe Horn case is fascinating and worthy of national discussion.
I suspect people are less likely to pack heat in Minnesota than in Texas. I also suspect bystanders were deathly afraid of the eight young violent black men.
"I'm sure these guys will get much worse done to their asses when they go to prison. "
I suspect it's much more likely they will be regarded as heroes for messing up whitey.
You're probably right.
You know what, I grew up on the west side of SA, and I've been in my fair share of fights, and I've NEVER EVER stomped someone's skull into the pavement. I've never even kicked someone in the face. These guys are lucky they're facing aggrivated assault and not attempted murder. But then again, you'd have to prove that the "alleged" attackers were smart enough to know they might kill the man.
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