Police to address attacks on Latinos
City officials are planning a news conference in Patterson Park to address growing concerns by Latinos that they are being targeted. The latest victim is Martin Reyes, who was beaten to death with a board. His cousin was shot in the forehead in July.
The attack on Reyes (left) appears to be by a mentally unstable man who has been arrested and charged and told police he hated "Mexicans." All the victims have been Honduran. Police think some of the victims were robbed because they are easy targets -- carry cash, are walking home late at night from work and are scared of immigration.
The Sun's Nick Madigan found this out about Reyes:
Reyes, who had spent most of the past decade in Baltimore, had six children, most of whom remained in Honduras. One daughter was adopted, and another, Norma, lives a few blocks from the room he rented in a rowhouse on Kenwood Avenue. His 35-year-old son-in-law, Pedro Concepción Diaz Aguilar, shared his space.
"When he was in Honduras, he liked to work with cattle and horses, in agriculture," Diaz Aguilar said Monday as he tried to raise money to send Reyes' body home. "And he dealt in grains and beans — wheat, coffee, frijoles — which he'd buy and resell. He'd move a lot of stuff. Here, it was different. We'd work together, remodeling kitchens, making cabinets — laborers' work."
Another Honduran who knew Reyes said he was "calm and humble," and a good friend. "He never interfered with anybody," said Eberto Funez, 42, who has been in East Baltimore for four years. "When he died, he was just coming from visiting a relative, and unfortunately his number came up."
Miguel Gutierrez, 33, said he had known Reyes since he was a child growing up in the same village, San Antonio, in La Paz, near Honduras' border with El Salvador. Gutierrez said he had come to Baltimore six months ago from Houston at Reyes' urging, and had lived with the older man for a time until he found his own place.
"He's known me since I was a baby," Gutierrez said. "He was always a gentleman, and gave me good advice. He'd say I shouldn't go around drinking, and that I shouldn't be out in the streets."
Here's how the suspect, Jermaine Holley, was out of jail at the time of the killing:
At the time of the killing, Holley, 19, had been ordered to appear in court on charges that he had violated his probation in a case stemming from an arrest in June 2009, when police saw him selling three capsules of heroin at East Fayette and East streets. Courts records show the probation violation was triggered by an April arrest on a drug-distribution charge and in June for failing to pay a taxi fare. Court records show he also failed to report for drug treatment and tests.
The court records show that Holley failed to show for his probation hearing July 13 before District Judge L. Robert Cooper. The judge issued a warrant ordering Holley's arrest, but the suspect's mother, Angela Graham, told the court that Holley had been picked up by Baltimore police three days earlier on an emergency protective order and sent to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center to meet with a counselor for his schizophrenia.
The judge rescinded the arrest warrant and issued a summons for Holley to appear in court Aug. 5, according to court records. It is unclear whether that hearing took place. Holley's trial on the probation violation and the most recent drug-distribution charge was scheduled Sept. 7. Police described Holley as mentally unstable and said he might have stopped taking his medication before Reyes' killing.
Categories: Breaking news, City Hall, Confronting crime, Neighborhoods, Southeast Baltimore, Top brass
Comments
First off this is horrible. It just shows how our Mayor has no control over the lawlessness of the Baltimore City community and the judicial system that let's people off the hook. These crimes happen in the city because in the county these people know they'd get hung. I don't know why the City officials think these people can recover from being habitual criminals.
Next question, are these people even in this country legally? I hope border security shows up and checks everyone's papers at this event in patterson park.
Posted by: Phillip | August 24, 2010 10:08 AM
The man that is accused of this murder would not get "hung" (I assume you mean "hanged" out in the counties. The mayor is not to blame for our crime problem. Lawlessness in this city has been almost a lifestyle since the 1850's.
A man was murdered on the streets of Baltimore and you are concerned about the citizenship status of other potential victims.
It sounds to me like you are suggesting that the human beings you refer to as "these people" don't deserve justice.
Did I get that right Philip?
Posted by: Dana Maria Golindo | August 24, 2010 10:42 AM
Dana,
Apparently you did not read my post. "First off this is horrible."
The person committing the crime needs to be locked up and the key lost.
Second,
It sounds like you are supporter of undocumented and illegal immigrants. If this person was here illegally, if they would have stayed in their own country they wouldn't have been killed.
I have no problem will immigrants. I only have a problem when they (pick a country.. Canada, Mexico, Panama, Ukraine) come to this county and believe they have a "RIGHT" to be here when they haven't even applied for the correct VISA's.
I'm only suggesting that the people that attend the patterson park meeting be checked for immigration status.
Posted by: Phillip | August 24, 2010 11:55 AM
Phillip,
I wish you tea-party kooks would mind your own business. We're trying to fight a crime wave in our neighborhood. Threatening Hispanics who have been victimized by thugs with deportation isn't going to solve the problem.
Instead of obsessing over immigrants, why don't you worry about the meth lab in your own neighborhood?
Posted by: A legal resident of Patterson Park Resident | August 24, 2010 12:33 PM
Hwy wait! I called it first. You knoiw, the white guy that can't walk down the street without being harrassed or assaulted. Oh, that's right, we don't count do we?
_______________________________
What happend is terrible. Unexcusable. Anaimalistic.
Posted by: LostInTime | August 24, 2010 1:37 PM
ya know this guy phillip states right off the crime is horrible . thats an indication that he thinks its not right at all
at no point during his post is he stating racist stuff
he said he thought it was horrible how does anyone get racist out of that
all he does is ask a question is this person here legally.
then this legall citizen of patterson park pipes up and claims hes threatneing people. geez the guy is being jumped for something he never said
Posted by: ted409 | August 24, 2010 5:12 PM
While this is a tragedy, there are thousands more that take place every year where American citizens are murdered by illegal aliens. So this poor man was a good man by some standards even though he chose to come here illegally, break our laws, take a job an American could have and in doing so helped to lower wages for others. I find it odd he has so many children he left behind. He even adopted a child. What could he have been thinking if he couldn't take care of his own children? What kind of a man is that? He had work in his home country. Why didn't he stay there, work and be close to his family? These articles always make it look as though it's the American, legal citizen who is the bad guy. The killer here was insane and should not have been on the streets but nor should have the people who were the victims. We need to clean this country up, deport the illegals here and take care of our own before we concern ourselves with illegal aliens. There's another article about crime in Staten Island. The Mexican police will be patrolling the streets there! Is this what America has come to? The local Americans there have said they are fed up with the crimes, drugs and gangs the Hispanics have brought to their neighborhoods. No one seems to care about them but of course they are Americans, born and raised. We need to do something and soon!
Posted by: DebTom | August 24, 2010 9:10 PM
This is a horrible crime, and prayers go out to his family. Immigration is a debate for another time and place. The real issue here - which the Sun and politicians seem unwilling to address or publicly admit - is the animals committing the crimes. These types of crimes happen to whites, blacks, and Hispanics every week in our city. But it is generally one group of individuals committing these crimes - young black males who are repeat offenders.
The response to these recent crimes will be on promoting tolerance towards Latino residents, promoting services for Latinos, and educating Latinos how to avoid being victims. Unfortunately it's not the victims that need the focus. The most recent crime probably would have been happened to someone of any race - wrong place, wrong time.
The focus needs to be on those committing the crimes. 3 strikes isn't working. Do you want one of your family members to be victim #2 or #3?
Posted by: Ray | August 24, 2010 9:27 PM
"We'd work together, remodeling kitchens, making cabinets — laborers' work."
These illegal aliens are taking jobs away from American workers. This type of work is good paying for American workers and one must have skills to do this type of work. While I don't approve
of this violence,
Americans are going to continue taking the law in their own hands if they need to pay the bills and eat!
ICE should be enforcing our immigration laws so that Americans can work. Illegal aliens have no business destroying our work force.
Posted by: Bonnie | August 24, 2010 11:13 PM
Its amazing that an article about a hispanic man getting killed has caused people to leave anti-hispanic comments.
The hispanic man wasnt the killer. He was the innocent victim for crying out loud.
There is a time and place for a debate about immigration. But to use an innocent man's death to bash immigrantss[legal or otherwise] is a disgrace.
Martin Reyes is dead.He is dead because a criminal was walking the streets when he should have been in jail. Period! To use MR Reyes death as an excuse to rant about immigration is inapropriate at best.And disgusting at worst.He was a human being.People should at least have some respect for the dead.
Posted by: Pete from Highlandtown | August 25, 2010 12:37 AM
I have sadly read the anti-immigration rants here in this comment section.But i am baffled as to what they have to do with the story.Not only was the Honduran laborer , Martin Reyes, a victim, but i see absolutly no mention of his legal status in this article.
I have read other articles about this story.And i have seen no indication that MR Reyes was here illegally.
Yet many commenters here have more contempt for MR Reyes then they do for his murderer
Posted by: Pete from Highlandtown | August 25, 2010 12:53 AM
Here in Florida we have thousands of Americans living in the woods and under bridges because they are un employed but everywhere you look some immigrant (mostly illegal) are working. This is creating an extremely hostile group of Americans who can not get jobs in their own country because aliens are here taking them. This is becoming an explosive situation no matter what the whiny liberals think and calling them racist will do nothing but make them more angry. There could be a war coming if we do not get more jobs so that we can feed our families here in the USA. Be afraid...very afraid!
Posted by: Augiestyles | August 25, 2010 6:14 AM
First, i'm not sure how I'm being racists. I feel sorry for the family. I simply called for documented workers and for people to be here legally. I also feel sorry for the 3 other hispanics that have been killed in the city, along with the 130+ blacks killed and the 15 or so whites. Am I being racists by calling out number by race? No, after all the Baltimore Sun does it with their statistics on crime and killing.
You talk about Meth labs but I see the issue being all drugs, including those that come from Canada and Mexico along with the home grown ones here in the US.
I'm not sure what exactly I said to be considered a racists. I'm pretty darn offended by that and would like to know exactly what I've said that makes you think I am. It would be interesting to find out if he was here legally or not.
Posted by: Phillip | August 27, 2010 5:59 PM
A list of violent crimes targeting Hispanics is seemingly growing by the week. The police commissioner himself is getting involved publicly.
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Posted by: Matt Narciso | Canadian Immigration advocate | September 16, 2010 6:01 AM