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Thread: Jesse Harris, David Harris and Austin Taggart Sentenced in 2015 FL Murder of Onesimo Marcelino Lopez-Ramos

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    Jesse Harris, David Harris and Austin Taggart Sentenced in 2015 FL Murder of Onesimo Marcelino Lopez-Ramos


    Onesimo Marcelino Lopez-Ramos, 18


    David Harris, from left; his brother Jesse Harris, and Austin Taggart


    Men accused of killing Jupiter man targeted him because of race, police say

    Three men accused of killing a man in Jupiter on April 18 targeted him because he was Hispanic, police said.

    Onesimo Marcelino Lopez-Ramos, 18, was beaten to death just after 1:30 a.m. in the 300 block of Fourth Street. He was the target of an attempted robbery by Jesse Harris, 18, and his brother, David Harris and Austin Taggart, both 19.

    Jupiter police Chief Frank Kitzerow said the department thinks the three men targeted Lopez-Ramos because he was Hispanic.

    "It began as a premeditated robbery," said Kitzerow on Monday at a news conference held at the Jupiter Police Department. "They ended up killing him."

    According to the probable cause affidavit, Lopez-Ramos and two other men were the targets of the attack, when a group of six to 10 people approached Lopez-Ramos and several other acquaintances.

    Lopez-Ramos was beaten to death with a rock, sustaining serious injuries to his face and the back of his head, police said. Police are unsure whether the three men suspected in the killing had attacked or robbed anyone else in the neighborhood prior to April 18.

    They are also unsure what, if anything, the men took and what they were specifically seeking.

    The department is suggesting that the State Attorney's Office seek an enhanced charge that would classify the beating death as a hate crime.

    David and Jesse Harris were found in a vehicle in Jupiter and arrested about 12:20 p.m. Friday. Taggart also was arrested in Jupiter.

    All three men have been charged with first-degree murder and attempted robbery with a deadly weapon. They are being held at the Palm Beach County Jail without bail.

    http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/pa...427-story.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
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    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
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    March 16, 2018

    NEW: ‘Stand Your Ground’ claim denied for Jupiter man charged in axe murder

    By Daphne Duret
    palmbeachpost.com

    WEST PALM BEACH — A judge on Friday denied a 22-year-old Jupiter man’s request to have charges against him thrown out in the 2015 killing of a Hispanic teen under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law.

    Judge Samantha Schosberg Feuer on Friday denied David Harris’ claims that he was defending himself and his younger brother, Jesse Harris, when he swung an axe and hit 18-year-old Onesimo Marcelino Lopez-Ramos in the back of the head during an April 2015 confrontation.

    Harris, charged with his younger brother and a third young man, Austin Taggart, had claimed that the three of them were headed to a park to smoke marijuana when they were confronted by Lopez-Ramos, his older brother, Elmer, and others drinking outside a home they shared in the neighborhood south of Indiantown Road between Military Trail and the Florida East Coast Railway tracks.

    But he also told investigators after his arrest that Taggart had told him before the altercation that he wanted to go “Guat hunting,” a street term for robbing Hispanic men.

    And despite the self-defense claims from defense attorney Franklin Prince, Assistant State Attorney Jill Richstone in a two-part hearing on the matter told Feuer that Harris had never made the self-defense claims at the time of his arrest.

    With the judge’s ruling, Harris’ case survives one of the first major tests of a shift in Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law.

    Under the old law, a defendant hoping to get a case dismissed would have to prove to a judge that he or she was immune from prosecution. Now, prosecutors are the ones who have to prove to a judge that defendants who claim “Stand Your Ground” were not acting in self-defense.

    Harris’ trial is set to begin April 2. The other two men will face trial separately.

    https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/c...GFNUvZfiT1nrI/

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    Jury deliberates in Jupiter hate crime suspect accused of killing Guatemalan man trial

    By Jennifer Tintner
    wptv.com

    Onesimo Marcelino Lopez-Ramos’ face looked like he came out of a boxing match, beaten and swollen with his eyes still open, according to a Jupiter Police officer that found his body.

    Prosecutors say Lopez-Ramos, 18, was killed by three men targeting Guatemalan people they were looking to rob in Jupiter in 2015.

    David Harris is the first of the three suspects to stand trial for Lopez-Ramos’s death, charged with first-degree murder while committing a hate crime. After five days of testimony, a Palm Beach County jury is now deliberating whether the killing was in cold-blood or was justified.

    "David Harris swung that axe one time. He did not kill Oneismo,” said Franklin Prince, Harris’ attorney.” Harris maintains the victim swung a pipe at him and Harris hit him with an axe in self-defence. Harris is blaming his co-defendant, Austin Taggart, for Lopez-Ramos’ death.

    “When Onesimo went down, Austin Taggart jumped on top of Onesimo and he pounded him with a rock," Prince said.

    The three are accused of fighting Lopez-Ramos, fatally striking him with an axe and smashing his face in with a rock in Jupiter.

    Harris told detectives after his arrest that Taggart went “Guat hunting,” looking for Guatemalan people to steal from a rob on the night of Lopez-Ramos’ killing. Prosecutors say Harris knew of Taggart’s intent and went walking in Jupiter with a group of “buddies” when they ended at Lopez-Ramos’ house.

    “He came trying to grab me,” Elmer Lopez-Ramos, the victim’s brother, said via a translator in court about Harris. Elmer Lopez-Ramos said he felt threatened when he men arrived, grabbing an axe to defend himself but eventually ran. When he came back to the house, he said he found his brother beaten to death in the street.

    “I touched his pulse. I put my ear up against his nose,” Elmer Lopez-Ramos said.

    Mauda Lopez-Ramos, 29, said her brother was in school and was returning home from work on the night of his death. She was inside the home sleeping during the fight but went outside when she woke up to a loud knock on her door.

    “He never got up. I wanted him to get up but he never got up,” Mauda Lopez-Ramos said.

    The family, originally from Guatemala, moved to Jupiter in the early 2000s.

    A Jupiter Police officer who responded to the scene testified when he arrived, he saw Lopez-Ramos laying on his back, face up with his eyes open.

    "His face looked like the end of a boxing movie,” the officer said in court. More officers arrived and they performed CPR on Lopez-Ramos, without success.

    Judge Samantha Schosberg Feuer denied Harris' “stand your ground” motion earlier this year.

    "There was no violence. There was no threat,” Prince said to Elmer Lopez-Ramos. “You were so drunk you went to get an axe and you eventually took that axe and you cut David Harris hand."

    Taggart and Jesse Harris will be tried separately later this summer.

    Harris said Elmer Lopez-Ramos squeezed his chest, which is how a fight began. "I was 265 pounds. I was insecure about my weight."

    Harris said he chased Lopez-Ramos when Onesimo Lopez-Ramos came at him with a pipe so said he picked up the axe and hit Lopez-Ramos with it

    "All I know is he fell down. I was there for about a minute, minute and a half," Harris said.

    Then, he said he heard a boom, which he attributes to Taggart beating Lopez-Ramos’ face with a rock.

    "You cracked his head with such force that is only seen in car accidents," Assistant State Attorney Jill Richstone said. Prosecutors said Taggart hit Lopez-Ramos with a piece of rebar and Harris struck him with an axe.

    “A rock, rebar and an axe were all used on Onesimo as he laid face down in the dirt,” Assistant State Attorney Marci Horwitz-Rex said. Palm Beach County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Bell ruled Lopez-Ramos’ cause of death as blunt force trauma with injuries consistent to being beat.

    “This is not a case of justifiable homicide,” Horwitz-Rex said.

    Prince maintains his client is not guilty of first-degree murder or a hate crime, saying their evidence does not match up to what prosecutors are claiming.

    The jury is expected to continue deliberating Tuesday morning.

    https://www.wptv.com/news/region-n-p...n-trial?page=2

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    Florida Man Gets Life in Prison for Fatal Hate Crime Attack

    nytimes.com

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Jurors have convicted a Florida man in a hate-crime case of a Guatemalan man who was fatally beaten outside his home.

    After the jury returned the first-degree murder verdict on Tuesday, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Samantha Schosberg Feuer sentenced 22-year-old David Harris to life in prison.

    Prosecutors said Harris joined two other men in an attack on 18-year-old Onesimo Marcelino Lopez-Ramos, adding that they prowled the streets that night in 2015 looking to rob someone of Guatemalan heritage.

    The SunSentinel reports Lopez-Ramos died when his skull was cracked by an ax-wielding Harris.

    Harris and his attorney blamed the death and the hate-crime aspect on co-defendant Austin Taggart. Taggart and Harris' younger brother Jesse will have separate trials later this year.

    https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/201...h-florida.html

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    Edited:

    Jupiter man pleads guilty in 2015 beating death of Guatemalan teen

    By Julius Whigham
    Palm Beach Post

    A judge sentenced Austin Taggart to a total of 20 years in prison in the April 2015 death of Onesimo Marcelino Lopez-Ramos.<wbr>

    Austin Taggart sat quietly as he listened to members of Onesimo Marcelino Lopez-Ramos’ family speak in court Friday afternoon.<wbr>

    https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/2...uatemalan-teen
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Florida man gets 8 years for fatal hate-crime attack

    By Associated Press

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida man has been sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to a lesser charge in the hate-crime beating death of a Guatemalan man.

    The Palm Beach Post reports that 22-year-old Jesse Harris pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated battery while committing evidence of prejudice. He had been facing a first-degree murder charge.

    Authorities say Harris, his brother David Harris and Austin Taggart attacked 18-year-old Onesimo Marcelino Lopez-Ramos in April 2015. Prosecutors say the group was prowling Jupiter streets, specifically targeting someone of Guatemalan heritage.

    Investigators say Lopez-Ramos died after his skull was cracked with an axe by David Harris.

    David Harris was sentenced to life in prison last year after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder.

    Taggart received 20 years last week after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated battery while committing evidence of prejudice.

    https://www.vancourier.com/florida-m...ack-1.24010006
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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