Second man convicted in beating

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. » A second person who participated in the group beating of an African-American man in a parking garage during last year’s “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was convicted of malicious wounding Thursday.

A Charlottesville Circuit Court jury recommended Alex Michael Ramos, 34, of Jackson, Georgia, be sentenced to six years in prison for the attack on 20-yearold DeAndre Harris. A judge will set the sentence in August.

According to online foot- age of the assault, a band of men kicked and punched Harris repeatedly inside the downtown Charlottesville garage, smacking him with flagpoles and a wooden plank. Harris, a former special education instructional aide, was hurt so badly that a head laceration required eight staples and his left arm was broken. Ramos, dressed in a white tank top, joined themelee about halfway through and appeared to punch or strike Harris while Harris was scrambling on the floor.

Ramos’ trial in Charlottesville this week was the second in back- to- back proceedings related to the parking garage attack.

On Tuesday night, another jury convicted Jacob Scott Goodwin, 23, a white nationalist from Ward, Arkansas, of malicious wounding and recommended a sentence of 10 years. A judge will set Goodwin’s punishment in August.

Ramos’s attorney, J. P. “Jake” Joyce, said that during the trial he lobbied the jury to convict Ramos for an assault-and-battery charge, which carries a sentence of up to 12 months.Ramos had been charged with malicious wounding, which mandates a prison sentence of between five and 20 years.