The father of one of seven Chicago teens charged with viciously beating another boy in a snowy South Side alley and then posting a video of it to YouTube says his son was being “made out to be the fall guy.”
Michael Palomino, a 30-year veteran of the Cook County sheriff’s office, fumed on Wednesday after a judge slapped his son, Raymond, with felony aggravated battery and robbery charges and set his bail at $100,000.
“He’s the only one charged as an adult,” Palomino said after the hearing, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“They’re making it sound like he did everything. It’s just one side of the story.”
Police and Michael Palomino say Sunday’s brutal assault was revenge for an earlier scuffle in which the victim and his friends jumped some of the goons seen in the video.
After the video went viral, friends and relatives recognized Raymond — the only attacker not wearing a ski mask — and called his father, who then called the cops on his son, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
“Being in law enforcement, I just couldn’t put my blinders on and not do anything after I saw what I saw,” Michael Palomino said.
During the bond hearing on Wednesday, the Cook County prosecutor said Raymond instigated the assault by shouting “Get him!” after a 15-year-old girl lured the victim into the alley.
The girl, who cops say shot the video, along with three other 15-year-old boys and two 16-year-old boys were charged as juveniles with aggravated assault and robbery.
Five of the juveniles are Chinese, and hearings for them were postponed so that officials could find a Cantonese translator, presumably for their parents’ benefit, the Sun-Times reported.
Appearing at the hearing in a gray hoodie and jeans, Raymond Palomino hung his head and seemed to fight back tears as Judge Israel Desierto shot down his lawyer’s request for a low bail.
The boy’s lawyer, Ilia Usharovich described his client as a “young man with no criminal record” who worked an after-school job at a local grocery store.
“As you can see, he can’t even look anybody in the face because he’s embarrassed to be standing here,” Usharovich said, according to the Tribune.
Michael Palomino said his son was a “good kid” who got decent grades at Kelly High School, but was running with a bad crowd.
“He’s had bad moments here and there, but nothing like this before,” he told reporters outside the courtroom.
Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said at a news conference on Wednesday that the teens’ decision to post the incriminating video online helped cops nail Palomino and the other suspects.
“This is what kids do today, which is ridiculously stupid,” he said.
With News Wire Services
