http://standardspeaker.com/news/judge-won-t-dismiss-federal-charges-in-shenandoah-beating-case-1.942633

Judge won't dismiss federal charges in Shenandoah beating case

Two Shenandoah-area men charged with a hate crime in connection with the fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant will go to trial, as a federal judge on Wednesday denied their motion to dismiss the charges against them.

The same judge also on Wednesday postponed the start of the trial for three former Shenandoah policemen charged with obstructing the investigation into the beating.

In a 14-page opinion, Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo ruled the Dec. 10 grand jury indictment of Derrick M. Donchak and Brandon J. Piekarsky contained sufficient evidence both to support the charges against the men and inform them of what prosecutors intend to prove.

[color="Red"]Additionally, Caputo ruled that the constitutional protection against double jeopardy does not bar this prosecution, that evidence of the defendants' racial feelings can be admitted during the trial and that the government does not have to turn over additional evidence. As a result, the trial of Donchak, 20, of Shenandoah, and Piekarsky, 18, of Shenandoah Heights, will begin at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 4 in the Max Rosenn U.S. Courthouse, Wilkes-Barre.

Donchak and Piekarsky are charged with participating in the beating of Luis Eduardo Ramirez Zavala on July 12, 2008, on West Lloyd Street in Shenandoah. Donchak also is charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy. Ramirez, 25, of Shenandoah, died of head injuries two days after the beating at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville.

In the other case, Matthew R. Nestor, William Moyer and Jason Hayes are charged with obstructing the investigation of Ramirez's beating by filing false reports on it. Caputo agreed to postpone the intended Sept. 13 beginning of that trial; he ruled the new starting date will be set at the Aug. 31 pretrial conference he will hold in his chambers.

In his opinion on the Donchak-Piekarsky case, Caputo wrote that the allegations in the indictment sufficiently detailed the offenses, and that is all that prosecutors must do to proceed with the trial.

He also wrote that the doctrine of dual sovereignty - that both the state and federal governments have the right to prosecute crimes - precludes barring the second prosecution of the pair.

"In the present case, the federal prosecution serves divergent interests for the state prosecution," including equal protection rights and the integrity of federal criminal investigations, Caputo wrote.

"This Court is not the proper forum to reverse more than 80 years of Supreme Court precedent permitting subsequent prosecution by separate sovereign without violating the double jeopardy clause."

Donchak and Piekarsky were found guilty May 1, 2009, by a Schuylkill County jury of simple assault and alcohol-related offenses - but were acquitted of more serious charges - at the end of a five-day trial. Each has served time in Schuylkill County Prison. pbortner@republicanherald.com