Police Suspect Victim Lied About Beating

A Latino teenager who told police that four skinheads had beaten him in an apparent hate crime was arrested Thursday after investigators found evidence that he lied about the attack, authorities said.

Detectives served an arrest warrant at the home of Isaac Ramirez, 18, and booked him into the city jail on suspicion of filing a false police report. Bail was set at $10,000.

Ramirez had stumbled home several weeks ago with multiple wounds on his head, including a boot mark on his forehead. He told investigators that he was attacked by four skinheads. Ramirez, a high school student, said the assailants threw a beer bottle at him before repeatedly punching and kicking him, while yelling racial epithets.

But when investigators went to the alleged crime scene, they could find no physical evidence that an attack had occurred. Police also failed to find mud on Ramirez’s clothes, although the area was “very muddy,” Kelly said.

Ramirez then made contradictory statements to police and reporters, Kelly said. When investigators tried to confront him, “he just clammed up,” he said.

A break in the case also came when Ramirez’s acquaintances called to tell police that the attacker was a Latino who was retaliating for another beating, Kelly said. The man, who has confessed to attacking Ramirez, has not been arrested.

“When the victim does not cooperate with us, it is very difficult to prosecute a crime, even when we have a confession,” Kelly said.

The man’s name was not released due to the ongoing investigation, Kelly said.

“The worst part about this is that it does an injustice to the real victims of hate crimes,” Kelly said.