POTTSVILLE - City lawyer Frederick J. Fanelli said Monday the George Zimmerman case revived memories of one that started five years ago Friday in Shenandoah - the killing of Luis Eduardo Ramirez Zavala.
"It seems to be nearly an identical fact pattern," Fanelli said of the cases. "You had a fight in the street. Because of the race issues involved, it generated a lot of intensity."
Fanelli represented Brandon J. Piekarsky, of Shenandoah Heights, one of three young men charged in connection with the death of Ramirez, 25, of Shenandoah, as the result of a fight on July 12, 2008, on West Lloyd Street. Ramirez died at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, two days after the fight.
In the case of Zimmerman, it is the Hispanic man who faced criminal accusations as the result of a race-tinged incident.
A six-woman jury on Saturday acquitted Zimmerman, 29, of Sanford, Fla., of all charges in connection with the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, 17, on Feb. 26, 2012, during a fight between the two. Zimmerman had been facing a possible prison sentence of 25 years to life if convicted of second-degree murder.
In the Ramirez case, a Schuylkill County jury convicted Piekarsky and Derrick M. Donchak, Shenandoah, on May 1, 2009, of simple assault and alcohol-related offenses, while acquitting each of more serious crimes, including third-degree murder in Piekarsky's case.
However, on Oct. 14, 2010, a jury in U.S. District Court in Scranton convicted both men of violating Ramirez's civil rights.
Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo, who presided over the men's trial, sentenced each to serve nine years in a federal correctional institution. Donchak, now 23, is serving his sentence at FCI/Otisville in New York, while Piekarsky, now 21, is serving his sentence at FCI/Beckley in West Virginia.
The Ramirez case drew national attention due to issues of racism and illegal immigration.
Shenandoah Borough Manager Joseph L. Palubinsky said Monday that the community is moving forward but otherwise declined to talk about the Ramirez case.
Donchak's lawyer in the county case, Jeffrey M. Markosky, Mahanoy City, also said Zimmerman's trial reminded him of the Ramirez case.
"Some of the same racial overtones are present," he said.
Fanelli said he believes Zimmerman, like Donchak and Piekarsky, is not through with the legal system.
"I'd be surprised if (federal prosecutors) didn't attempt to pursue a civil rights claim against (Zimmerman)," Fanelli said.
Because of the dual sovereignty doctrine, which holds that the state and federal governments are independent and allows each of them to prosecute criminal cases, separate prosecutions of a defendants in state and federal courts do not violate the Fifth Amendment's ban on double jeopardy.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has confirmed that the Department of Justice is investigating Zimmerman.
Markosky said federal authorities never should have prosecuted Donchak and Piekarsky.
"I thought the verdict in the county court was appropriate," he said. "They should have served the sentences from (President) Judge (William E.) Baldwin in county court and that should have been the end of it."
On June 17, 2009, Baldwin sentenced Donchak to seven to 23 months in prison and Piekarsky to six months and one week to 23 months in prison.
Baldwin declined to be interviewed about any comparisons between the Zimmerman and Ramirez cases.
Fanelli, who agreed with Markosky that the county sentences were sufficient in the Ramirez case, also said Zimmerman had the benefit of two superb lawyers, Mark O'Mara and Donald West.
"I thought his lawyers were top-notch and terrific," Fanelli said.