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Baltimore bus beating update: On trial

By Michelle Malkin  •  March 4, 2008 06:50 PM

The trial in the Baltimore bus beating involving a white homeless woman and a gang of black students is underway. The problem is identifying all the assailants involved in the melee. 911 tapes captured the chaos. Via the Baltimore Sun:

A woman who was severely beaten last year on a city bus told a juvenile court judge yesterday that she could identify only one of the teens accused of attacking her over an empty seat.

Nine students at Robert Poole Middle School have been accused of beating Sarah Kreager, 26, and her boyfriend, Troy Ennis, aboard a bus in Hampden in December. One student has admitted her role in the attack, and cases against five began yesterday after more than a month of motions. Cases against the other three alleged assailants have been delayed and could be dismissed, according to court records.

Kreager, the first witness, said that 20 to 30 students poured out of the bus, many of them advancing on her. But in photo arrays viewed weeks after the attack, Kreager said she could only identify with “100 percent confidence” the girl she says started it all: Nakita McDaniels.

The defendants’ lawyers are attacking Kreager’s character:

Kreager described the attack in detail yesterday. She testified that McDaniels told her the seat she was sitting in was taken and then threatened to move her when she didn’t get up. Kreager said she moved seconds later to avoid a confrontation and went to stand with Ennis by the rear door of the bus.

But when Ennis accused the middle schooler of having worse manners than the couple’s 5-year-old daughter, McDaniels resumed taunting them with an expletive-filled tirade, Kreager said.

“I was thinking, ‘Look, you can have the seat,’” Kreager said. “Nakita swung and struck me in the face. … There was an uproar. A female’s legs came up out of a seat on the left-hand side. The noise level went from loud to even louder. I heard a male yelling ‘Stop!’ from the front of the bus.”

Kreager said she crawled out of the bus and began to regroup when students began moving to the front of the bus to get the driver to open the door. Kreager said that Ennis tried to barricade the door shut from the outside until she told him to release the door so the teenagers could get out.

When McDaniels emerged, she repeated “what’s good?” - slang for “let’s go, let’s fight,” Kreager said.

Kreager said she began backing up to prepare herself for an attack, while Ennis apparently faced off with other students.

“Nakita and a female tackled me,” Kreager said. “I was in the gutter with my hands over my face, trying to block the punches. I felt a piercing in my head. … There were at least five to 10, maybe seven to 10, students around me.”

Kreager said the punches and kicks became “harder and harder” until someone pulled her head up by her hair and McDaniels ordered someone to kick her.

“My eye immediately swelled shut,” she said. “I couldn’t see.”

Three of the five defense attorneys have cross-examined Kreager. Although all of them either suggested or asserted during opening statements that Kreager provoked the attack, none of the three attorneys so far has challenged Kreager’s testimony that McDaniels started the fight.

Defense attorneys mostly tried to attack Kreager’s character, pointing to previous arrests, mental health problems and uncooperative behavior at the hospital.

For the most part, Circuit Judge David W. Young cut off such questioning as irrelevant.

Previous coverage here.

One girl has already pleaded guilty:

One of the Baltimore teenagers charged in the beating of a 26-year-old woman aboard a transit bus has admitted her role in the attack.

The girl on Thursday pleaded “involved,” the equivalent of guilty in juvenile court, to charges of second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault.

The girl was one of nine students from Robert Poole Middle School charged in the December beating of 26-year-old Sarah Kreager. Cases against three have been delayed, and proceedings against five others were to resume Friday.

A statement of facts read by prosecutors said the students on the bus “rose up en masse” to join the fight.

Posted in: Baltimore

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  1. #1
    On March 4th, 2008 at 6:59 pm, yt1300inHtown said:

    thuuuuuuuuuuuuug liiiiiiiiiiiiiiife

  2. #2
    On March 4th, 2008 at 7:02 pm, TexasTiger said:

    Although all of them either suggested or asserted during opening statements that Kreager provoked the attack, none of the three attorneys so far has challenged Kreager’s testimony that McDaniels started the fight.

    Of course she did; she was RWW.

  3. #3
    On March 4th, 2008 at 7:03 pm, Old Tanker said:

    Where’s Jesse Jackson?? Rev. Sharpton? What, no one to come to a homeless woman’s aid?

    /chirp, chirp…..

  4. #4
    On March 4th, 2008 at 7:03 pm, zorro said:

    Robert Poole Middle School

    Those gang-like punks are a disgrace to the human race. Can you imagine how they bully students at that school? What a cesspool.

    They will learn one of life’s truths soon enough, what goes around comes around.

  5. #5
    On March 4th, 2008 at 7:04 pm, walterc said:

    They say the future of society is in it’s youth. . . .although this is the extreme, I think it is a strong indication of how this “ME” generation is being brought up.

    The fact that there are parents willing to hire lawyers that are willing to attack an assault victim for the sole purpose of having these “children” avoid punishment indicates where are country is headed.

  6. #6
    On March 4th, 2008 at 7:09 pm, zorro said:

    Will they administer drug test on these students?

  7. #7
    On March 4th, 2008 at 7:10 pm, JsinGood said:

    Where’s Jesse Jackson?? Rev. Sharpton?

    Probably working on a campaign to free these misunderstood youths from the white, racist witch hunt perpetuated by the bigotted system, as we speak.

    /sarcasm

  8. #8
    On March 4th, 2008 at 7:10 pm, CarpiJugulum said:

    If they can not persue the case against all of the punks, then make a prime example out of the one. A long stay at juvenile hall, restitution to who ever is paying the medical bills and a large restitution payment to the victem.

    The punks will only learn when their parents learn. So garnish the wages of the parents to pay for this. Then maybe they will not be so supportive of the thug life.

    What a bunch of wasted sp#$m. As we used to say ” The best part of them ran down their mothers leg.”

  9. #9
    On March 4th, 2008 at 7:32 pm, gippergirl said:

    I used to ride the bus when I went to school in the 80s…it was like “lord of the flies” back then…somehow I doubt it’s improved with time…

  10. #10
    On March 4th, 2008 at 7:34 pm, davidcaskey said:

    I am sure that Ms. Kreager did something to diserve the beating. After all, there was a similar situation in Jena that was clearly the white man’s fault for making the poor black children mad. We need to learn to not provoke them and cause them such distress.

  11. #11
    On March 4th, 2008 at 7:42 pm, jimC said:

    Try the little punks as adults.

    Jim C

  12. #12
    On March 4th, 2008 at 7:55 pm, jcflindsay said:

    Oh, yeaaaaahhhhh. Bring da funk. Throw their “parents” in the can. And please have them all sterilized. When the Latino revolution happens, these events will come to an abrupt halt.

  13. #13
    On March 4th, 2008 at 8:00 pm, TexasTiger said:

    On March 4th, 2008 at 7:03 pm, Old Tanker said:

    Where’s Jesse Jackson??

    Jesse’s tied up in Lower Zambuta.

  14. #14
    On March 4th, 2008 at 8:02 pm, bit_boy said:

    This whole mess sounds like the incompetence of diversity and Subculture Justice. Sarah Kreager will be victimized a second time by a system blind to justice and a system blind to cause and effect. Is one culprit any less guilty of the whole crime because there was eight other assailants. If Nakita McDaniels were punished with the true gravity of this crime then she might be forth coming with the names of others so involved. But as long as the court protects McDaniels as a victim she will not turn the other parties. Who needs to speak for the mentally ill and homeless. Well don’t hold your breath that the Baltimore Court System will.

  15. #15
    On March 4th, 2008 at 10:03 pm, Old Tanker said:

    On March 4th, 2008 at 7:10 pm, JsinGood said:

    heh, heh, like you needed the /sarc tag…..

  16. #16
    On March 4th, 2008 at 11:36 pm, right_on said:

    Is there doubt in anyone’s mind that these little beasties wanted to kill Kreager? Not in my mind.

  17. #17
    On March 5th, 2008 at 3:18 am, nyc123me said:

    Now stop for a moment and imagine if the victim was black and the perps were white ..this would be headlines in every media outlet in the nation. But heck, it was just homeless white trash, so it doesn’t warrant any press. Gee, that sounds suspiciously like the racist press of half a century ago. Go figure. Nice to see just how much this nation has ‘progressed’ since the days of slavery isn’t it.

  18. #18
    On March 5th, 2008 at 4:08 am, Chief RZ said:

    nyc123me. Yes, that would be quite a headline and the NYT would probably carry the story about as long as the Tawana Brawley / Al Shapton lie.
    There is another thing to look at. Sometime around the 1950-60s, God was taken out of our schools. This is the result: people with no morals nor moral guidance from God fearing parents. The second part is the result of the Democratic “war on poverty” that threw out fathers from homes so mothers could live on welfare and teach their children that the world / USA owes them a living without working a day in their lives. Now they form gangs and terrorize the neighborhood.

  19. #19
    On March 5th, 2008 at 5:06 am, graysonret said:

    I agree, ChiefRZ. I know, back in my school days, things like that were unthinkable. I wouldn’t fear school/court as much as I would fear going home. What was left of me, after Dad got through, would be turned over to Mom. Talk about the “wrath of the gods”!! And that wasn’t true of just my parents, it was the same with all parents of my friends. Now, they look for an excuse to rationalize the behavior and hire a lawyer. This is a fine example of socialism’s effect on a population. At one time, 50-60 years ago, one was safer in a black neighborhood, than a white neighborhood. I know here, D.C. schools were considered some of the best in the nation.

  20. #20
    On March 5th, 2008 at 7:42 am, englishqueen01 said:

    Defense attorneys mostly tried to attack Kreager’s character, pointing to previous arrests, mental health problems and uncooperative behavior at the hospital.

    Gotta love that. She gets the crap beat out of her and her character is attacked.

    What about the character of the juvenile thugs who beat her?

    Oh…that’s right…never mind. We can’t judge, and all that… :roll:

  21. #21
    On March 5th, 2008 at 7:55 am, 30 pcs of silver said:

    Throw the book at them. They have the tapes from the bus. Kreager may not be able to identify each one of them as she was beaten into a bloody pulp but the tapes sure can.

  22. #22
    On March 5th, 2008 at 8:16 am, laugrat said:

    Reminds me of a murder committed in our small city in upstate NY last summer…trial to come soon.

    A 19 year old went home, got an AK 47 and went to another street and shot a teenager and killed him. The motive has never been revealed, but gang activity seems to me a likely motive….this in a town of 15,000 people, that has over the past years changed so dramatically you can’t believe it.

    The new Democratic mayor in town referred to the people involved in this travesty as ‘disenfranchised’…… not criminals but disenfrancised youth. The future doesn’t bode well when you don’t deal in reality with sociopaths.

    The liberals on the City Council call for a ‘gun amnesty immediately following the murder. If you turned in ANY guns, not just hand guns or illegal guns, you got coupons for groceries at local stores!!! This was the solution offered. Somehow I doubt that the young man who murdered the victim would have turned in his AK47 for food coupons!!!!

    The youth involved in this crime on the bus in Baltimore will be slapped on the wrist and turned back into society to do worse crimes.

  23. #23
    On March 5th, 2008 at 10:03 am, emjem24 said:

    Another example of how the black community and the black family structure has totally fallen apart. This homeless woman didn’t deserve such an unprovoked attack. What the hell were these kids thinking?

    As a teacher, I’ve seen black kids (not the only race) who’ve exhibited a total lack of respect or self-control. They’re filled with bravado, hate, and serious impulse problems. I see them on the streets in my neighborhood at night roaming around looking like they have no useful purpose or a home.

    I find this act disgusting. This was clearly a race-motivated attack. The black community has filled its younger members with ignorant blather about how whites have kept them down. Hip hop/rap has told black youths that they can make themselves seemingly invincible, important, even infamous through brandishing a loaded gun or using physical violence. The only kind of family or meaning of life can be found on the streets of America, not in the pursuit of education, bettering your life, or the home.

    When will the black community of Baltimore stand up and take a stand against such senseless violence? When will blacks take responsibility for their actions instead of blaming the victim (this homeless woman) or whites/society in general?

  24. #24
    On March 5th, 2008 at 10:14 am, Ron Rockstar said:

    I’d love to comment on this, but I don’t want to be banned.

  25. #25
    On March 5th, 2008 at 10:36 am, johnnycab23513 said:

    Did I miss the part about this being a “hate crime”?

  26. #26
    On March 5th, 2008 at 11:04 am, zyzzyg said:

    Where was the bus driver? I cannot believe that there is not a system for dealing with such events. I have seen buses that flash ‘call police’ when there is a problem. I am not suggesting that the bus driver should have physically stepped in, but at a minimum that driver is certainly a witness. The driver may not have seen what was going on initially, but had to hear the commotion and wondered what the heck was going on. Were there other people on the bus? Riding a bus is a fairly regular thing. The same people can found on the same route within a certain time frame. Where are the police that should be doing a canvass looking for witnesses?

    And, the boyfriend of the victim, isn’t he also a witness? The girl who pled ‘involved’ isn’t she also a witness? And, why did it take so long to bring this thing to court?

  27. #27
    On March 5th, 2008 at 11:13 am, Boomer said:

    The slimy defense lawyers going after the victim in this felonious attack never cease to amaze me. It’s the victims fault for being guilty of being on the bus by their standards. In a just society these future sociopaths of America should receive the same brutal beating they administered, but unfortunately they will probably walk with just a slap on the wrist.

  28. #28
    On March 5th, 2008 at 11:28 am, puhiawa said:

    I have read there are even web sites that celebrate black crime.

  29. #29
    On March 5th, 2008 at 11:55 am, Chuck said:

    What goes around…
    I agree with #12 above. If amnesty goes through the eventual flood will swell to over 40 million latinos - the other white meat. I know and have spent time with various latin home country folks here in America over the years. They’ve been crapped on by the so-called civil rights folks - read “grab it for the blacks only”. When latinos become double the population of the blacks, the lid is going to come off and black bad guys will get street justice by the car load.

  30. #30
    On March 5th, 2008 at 1:31 pm, KaosKlerik said:

    On March 5th, 2008 at 11:04 am, zyzzyg said:
    Where was the bus driver?

    If you read some of the earlier reports you’ll see the black bus driver tried to stop it and earlier had stuck up for an elderly white passenger who was being harrassed by the same group of little angels.

  31. #31
    On March 5th, 2008 at 2:47 pm, terrig said:

    The Charm City lost it’s charm a long time ago. But why should this story surprise anyone? I’ve seen plenty of whites and latinos trying to get their “angel” children off at all costs. But we’re always told by the libs and the MSM that not having a father in the family, or a family for that matter which teaches respect for others is the way to go. But if anything at all happens to these thugs it will be minimal at best. They’ll go on to bigger and better crimes and the Jackson & Sharpton sideshow will be there too.

  32. #32
    On April 24th, 2008 at 5:59 pm, jeffislouie said:

    God forbid anything like this happens on a bus I am on, because there would be close to 30 dead middle school girls and I’d be in jail.
    Truth be told, it makes me wonder why none of the bystanders got involved and taught these thuggish human wastoids a lesson not easily forgotten.
    There are two ways to deal with violent criminals like this:
    beat the stuffing out of them so the injuries causes permanent damage or throw them in jail so they have lots of time to think while being beaten mercilessly by more violent criminals.

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