MD - Judge Vacates Convictions From Record In Shomrim Beating Case

Baltimore, MD - On Tuesday a Baltimore judge struck the convictions of a neighborhood watchman who beat a teenager, saying at a the hearing that he had obeyed terms of his probation.

The Baltimore Sun Reports that the judge struck Eliyahu Werdesheim’s conviction, imposed probation before judgment and cut the term of Werdesheim’s probation in half, which is now scheduled to end later this month.

The change of sentence also means Werdesheim can apply for law school without having to state that he has a criminal record.

Werdesheim, a former member of a Shomrim patrol in Park Heights, was convicted last summer of wrongful imprisonment and assault in the beating of Corey Ausby. The case exposed tensions between some members of the black and Jewish communities in Northwest Baltimore.

Werdesheim is white and Ausby is black. The incident drew comparisons to the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida.

Werdesheim, who has recently become a father, said he learned important lessons from the case.

“I definitely made some mistakes,” Werdesheim told the judge. “I will never make those mistakes again.”

Ausby’s family was not in court at the hearing. J. Wyndal Gordon, Ausby’s attorney, questioned whether Werdesheim was really sorry about what happened, stating Werdesheim had shown a “cowboy attitude.”

The state’s attorney’s office did not oppose the move.