Youths Describe Mob Beating!

MILWAUKEE (Oct. 3) - One boy said he does not attend school because his mother does not know where to send him.

Another was arrested for burglary before he was 10. His father is dead and, at 14, he's a father himself.

A third in the mob of boys accused of beating a man to death with broomsticks, shovels and poles said he took part because he didn't want anyone calling him scared.

Four days after as many as 16 boys killed Charlie Young Jr., seven of them were charged Thursday with first-degree reckless homicide. An eighth - 10 years old, the youngest of those held - was charged as a juvenile with party to the crime of reckless homicide.

It was still unclear Thursday how many boys were in custody overall, or why they beat Young so brutally. But statements from some of the boys have begun to shed light on the deadly fracas.

The violence started when 13-year-old Artieas Shanks threw an egg at Young, police say. Young then struck 14-year-old Marlin Dixon in the mouth, knocking out a tooth. That prompted a growing group to go after the man, hunting him down and beating him bloody and unconscious outside a home where he sought to escape them.

Young, 36, died Tuesday after he was taken off life support.

``If I had known he was beat that bad, to tell the truth I would not have touched him at all,'' wrote Marlin Dixon, who said he retaliated when Young punched him. ``I do not want him to die because my tooth is not more important than his life is. I'm sorry.''

In addition to Marlin Dixon and Artieas Shanks, the other boys charged as adults were Marlin's brother, Don Dixon, 13; Lee Mays, 16; his brother Kenny Mays, 13; Montreon Jordan, 15; and Devin Beamon, 16. The charge filed against them carries a maximum prison term of 60 years.

Of those charged as adults, all except Don Dixon and Shanks were ordered held on $100,000 bail. Dixon and Shanks were ordered held on $50,000 bail.

Lawyers for the boys 15 and younger said they planned to ask to have the cases moved back to juvenile court, as allowed under state law.

Lawyers for all eight boys said Thursday that the statements they gave police were unreliable. They said neither attorneys nor the boys' parents were present when the statements were made.

According to the statements, five of the boys' fathers are dead. Shanks' father is in prison. Marlin Dixon is a father himself.

Most of the boys have criminal histories - from curfew violations to possession of cocaine and a 9mm handgun. Most grew up in the neighborhood where the beating occurred. Some were gang members.

Two of the boys said they participated in the attack because they were scared of later being accosted by the group.

The 10-year-old hit Young with a stick, a milk crate and a pole during the beating. He said his clothes and shoes were bloody afterward. Prosecutors said he was not charged with the more serious offense because they didn't believe a 10-year-old is capable of understanding the possible consequences of his actions.

The 10-year-old's lawyer, Craig Mastantuono, said the boy should be released to his parents because he has a stable home and has been attending school.

``He is in fourth grade,'' Mastantuono said. ``Judge, he can't drive a car. I doubt that he is a flight risk at all.''

But Assistant District Attorney Joy Hammond said the boy took part in the attack from beginning to end and reportedly told another boy, ``we went back and beat him some more.''

The boy made one brief remark in court: ``I don't wanna talk to no police officers.'' His name was not released. Judge Tim Witkowiak ordered him detained in a juvenile facility.

The 10-year-old's brother was among those arrested in the case.

Their half-sister said the boys sneaked out Sunday night because they were bored and wanted to hang out with friends. She's afraid her brother will be sent to prison.

``If a grown man can't handle being in prison, how can a 10-year-old with the mentality of a 10-year-old handle being in prison for 10 or 20 years?'' she said. ``He's not a monster. He is a 10-year-old boy.''

Lee Mays' statement reveals the 16-year-old can read and write only a little. He said he is not attending school, because his mother does not know where to send him. He printed his name on the police statements with big, block letters.

Beamon said he held the already bloody Young in a wrestling move he learned on television, called a ``cripple cross face hold,'' so the others could beat Young in the face.

Marlin Dixon told police one of the boys involved told him to go home and have his mother take him to the hospital. In his statement, he said his mother called police, then told him she had to go to work and would take him to the hospital the next day.

Shanks told police he hit Young once with a broomstick before the group beating began because he was mad at Young for pushing him down and knocking out his friend's tooth. According to his statement, he also did it because he wanted Young ``to feel some pain.''

During the beating, Shanks' mother called him home, telling him, ``If I see you on the corner with that group of guys again, I'll hurt you seriously,'' his statement said.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Louise Shanks said her son was sorry.

``He didn't know they were going to do all that to the man,'' she said. ``He's scared. He knows what he did ain't right.''

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