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: the 13th juror

Teenagers charged in beating of homeless men in St. Augustine

Three men sleeping under an overpass in St. Augustine were attacked by a group of teenagers and punched, kicked, and beaten with sticks, a shopping cart, a bike and rolled-up fencing.

Two 17-year-old cousins, a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old are facing charges of aggravated battery and attempted robbery

A juvenile who was with the attackers told police that one of them needed money and planned to rob someone to get it.

One of the victims, Michael McMeans, 31, was able to break free and ran to a nearby restaurant to call for help. He wasn't seriously hurt but the other two men remain hospitalized. Robert Short is in critical condition and Andrew Christianson is listed as stable.

The homeless are particularly vulnerable to crime, said Sgt. Chuck Mullins of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, but the victims in this case were even more so because they were asleep when they were attacked.

Read the St. Augustine Record report here.

I have to ask: What do you think you could steal from a homeless man? Why would anyone think about robbing a homeless person? Or did these losers just feel like beating the crap out of someone?

Full post as published by the 13th juror on August 27, 2008 (boomark / email).