911 caller testifies at Pa. hate crime trial, tells court of brawl that killed immigrant

911 caller testifies at Pa. hate crime trial

SCRANTON, Pa. — A woman who called 911 about a brawl that fatally injured a Mexican immigrant described “guys kicking and beating each other” in the federal hate crime trial of two Pennsylvania men.

Liz Schlack testified Thursday in the trial of Brandon Piekarsky and Derrick Donchak. They’re charged in the 2008 death of 25-year-old Luis Ramirez in the mining town of Shenandoah.

Schlack told the court she was rousted from bed by the commotion outside and saw Ramirez on the ground. Ramirez later died from injuries sustained in the fight with a group of high school athletes.

Prosecutors say Piekarsky and Donchak participated because of racial animosity toward Hispanics. The defendants say Ramirez’s ethnicity was not a factor.

Piekarsky and Donchak were acquitted of the most serious state charges against them last year.