Some charges dropped against Temple students accused of hate crime

A Municipal Court judge dismissed aggravated-assault charges yesterday against four suspended Temple University students accused in the alleged hate-crime beating of a Jewish man near the campus in February and set arraignment for May 20 on the three remaining charges.

Judge Nazario Jimenez retained charges of simple assault, ethnic intimidation and terroristic threats against the defendants. Michael Walsh, 20, of Florham Park, N.J.; brothers David Scott, 20 and Stephen Scott, 19, both of Willow Grove; and Bryan Pedreiro, 19, of East Brunswick, N.J., are accused of attacking Jordan Blady, 23.

The judge concluded that there was insufficient evidence for the aggravated-assault charges because there was no intent to cause serious bodily injury in the Feb. 15 attack on North Broad Street near Norris when a single punch was thrown.

Prosecutor Christy Tuttle called David Scott the "ringleader," saying he threw a punch at Blady.

Blady, whose grandfather survived the Nazi death camp in Auschwitz, told the Philadelphia Daily News that a group of young men had come up to him and his friend and yelled anti-Semitic slurs.

He was then punched in the face and suffered a broken nose and a fractured bone around his eye socket. Blady's friend, David Wise, was unharmed.

Joe Kelly, an attorney for Stephen Scott, denied that ethnic intimidation was involved in the incident. Kelly said that his client had previously been attacked and had brought his brother back with him to the same location.

Kelly said the brothers had been at a fraternity party in the neighborhood.

"There was nothing about race or religion by anyone at all said," said David Scott's attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr.

Tuttle disagreed, saying after the hearing that the District Attorney's Office takes such cases very seriously.

"It's a tragedy we still undergo these activities," Tuttle said. "We will continue to prosecute the case."