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Beating victim dies, suspects to be charged

GRDadof3

By GRDadof3
in Grand Rapids Coffee House

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PHTPL Unincorporated Area

PHTPL

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Video says they "recently graduated" from Wyoming Park High. Since these guys played football, and so did Jono, you can probably imagine how it went down.

I wonder how many people will come out in defense of these guys? I'm guessing a few, believe it or not.

More at the GR Press

They were all 18 (2007 graduates).

Interestingly, the lineup of suspects is almost exactly as I pictured them. I've run into the same groups of guys at too many bars downtown (although we stay away from those bars now).

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Rizzo City

Rizzo

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What a sign of masculinity when you have to run to your other seven friends to beat up one fellow who probably didn't know what he was saying.

"They are good kids, as I'm sure the other kids are too. You know teenagers get riled up they do silly things and it's unfortunate something like this happens."
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starrfish Whistle-Stop

starrfish

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interesting piece by Jane Bos. she calls this situation mind boggling - basically asking how could such a good boy/athlete and his friends be involved in a beating that resulted in the death of another good boy/athlete? maybe i'm just too cynical and have seen too much, but i don't think it's mind boggling. you take large quantities of alcohol (one has to assume, as we don't have blood alcohol tests on any of them), add mob mentality and a dash or two of immaturity and you get a group of seemingly "good boys" mixed up in a second-degree murder/manslaughter case. what's to puzzle over? tragic loss because of tragic choices made by these kids. don't even try using "i was drunk" as an excuse, kids. if i were the judge, i'd go even harder on them because they were underage and drunk (again, assuming) while beating some poor kid to death.

*fish

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d8alterego Whistle-Stop

d8alterego

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I think these kids should have the max thrown at them, only for the simple fact that not one of them came forward as the seriousness of this crime was unfolding and said "I made a huge mistake and I'd want to turn myself in." No one was sorry for what happened or held themself accountable.

Maybe the city leaders are fighting one wrong battle. Perhaps we should be putting less emphasis on outlawing strip clubs from our city, and instead putting more focus on these teen clubs and establishments allowing minors to mingle with drinking age adults. Perhaps we need to fight both.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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I'll bet the 6th guy did it all. No one has come out to defend him...he has to be the only guilty party.

On my way home from work I was listening to the Huge show on AM 1340. Yeah, he's a little annoying at times, but he was talking about this same topic. It was interesting, he had people calling in and one caller identified herself as a relative to one of the first three charged.

I felt sorry for her because it can't be easy knowing someone you love deeply and watched grow up could possibly spend the rest of his life in jail, but at the same time she's talking about how these kids are responsible young adults. She even went so far as to say the kids did admit the fight took place, but none of them felt like they threw the fatal blow or kick. Because of this, they should not be held accountable for this incident and or the charges were much to severe.

In ending her phone call, she said that this was a horrible accident but it should end on a positive. The kids going to jail was not positive. She felt the correct punishment for the crime (a senseless mob beating) should be community service and going to schools to teach kids the dangers of fighting.

Some other interesting points she brought up were: 18 year olds should not be mingling with 21 year olds and she couldn't understand how a bar allows this. As a result of this intermingling, the drinking adult provoked this incident.

The three latest suspects were unknown to the 3 kids from Wyoming Park. There was another suspect, not named, who got all of these kids acquainted that night.

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fluffy Whistle-Stop

fluffy

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Man, I remember going to The Orbit Room for A to X when I was 18 or 19 and had no intention of drinking. Neither did my friends.

But times sure have changed. I used to dj at the Margarita Grill. I think in the few, short months I was working, I never had a fight. Same when I would visit my other dj pals that worked there, or my wife that bartended there for a short while. I think the only "fight" I recall was a girl throwing a beer bottle when asked to leave at 2:15 AM.

I know the place has a bad rap for allowing youngsters in and I agree 18+ is a hassle. But they aren't all bad. You can't put all pre-drinking agers in one demographic.

Although the Margarita Grill is not a place I would choose to frequent, you can't place blame on the bar. Jono could have been at a party with these other cats and the same thing could happen. It is not the responsibility of the bar to have security escort every patron who has an altercation to their vehicle or elsewhere. That places them in danger as well. They are there to ensure the safety of their guests INSIDE the establishment.

This event is a tragedy. NO ONE deserves to die.

These suspects do need some jail time. I agree with the community service and visiting schools to talk to teens as well. AFTER they are punished for their wrongdoings. But they need to want to help others. I hope they learned something from all of this.

Testosterone sucks.

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egrguy Burg

egrguy

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The only time I've ever witnessed a bar fight was at the Margarita Grill. Im not all for lawsuits as GRD mentioned, however, a repeat offender in my logical sense/business sense that the bar could easily be made grossly negligent in allowing under 21 year olds to obtain alcohol in their establishment.

It aggravates me to see people want a soft touch of the law for the guilty, however, they'd cry fowl if it was just the opposite.

Since they are all adults I can't see how they could get off with community service. Isn't their state mandatory sentencing guidelines? I can't imagine they could plead all the way down to com. service. I would have to think 2nd degree manslaughter?

Sad story for the young victim's family though...

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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I haven't read any of the actuall details in the paper. it is important to find out though because often times what you find is that not all 6 people were involved in the actual fight and maybe the victim had more to do with his demise than has be reported. I was reading 1 or 2 months ago a very similar situation that occured in san deigo where someone had died after a fight with 4 people. as it turns out the victim had started a fight with one of the people in group at the bar. it was continued after leaving the bar at another location. another person in the group punched the victim but had only minor participation. 2 of the people in the group did not strike the victim at all but were present and did not intervene. There is still a lot to this story that needs to be found out before you can convict all 6 of murder.

On another note, I don't know if East Lansing specifically prohibits people under 18 from going to the bar, but at every bar I had been to (which is most of them) after a certain time you needed to be 21 to enter.

Also, remember that the mug shots were taken some time after the actual fight had occured and are not exactly of the highest quality. it would be a mistake to assume that none of the people arrested did not sustain some kind of injury.

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jas49503 Hamlet

jas49503

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There are a few more details in the Press's latest article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ss....xml&coll=6

The general manager remembers Jono, and says he didn't appear intoxicated nor was he fighting with anyone when he cashed out his bar tab 15 minutes before closing.

I know the mug shots aren't the best quality, but two weeks after the event, you would think one of them would at least have stitches or some kind of scarring if it were a fair fight.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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The evidence will be sorted out in the coming weeks. we should remember to reserve judgement until after the evidence is fully revealed and weighed. There are two sides to every story and the ones responsible will be held accountable. But also in our zeal we should not inflate thier crimes. we are angry because a young man died unnecessarily but as was mentioned earlier intent is an important part of the determination for the punishment. In our bill of rights we are ensured due process and this should not be forgotten.
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