Burning Atlanta

Happens all the time. Another illegal criminal scum that wasn't kept out and went on to beat somebody's head-in with a baseball bat. We have enough of our own criminal scum. We don't need to import more of them.

Scum

An illegal immigrant who twice had been deported from the United States was convicted Tuesday of the brutal beating death of an employee of a historic restaurant near the White House.

A D.C. Superior Court jury found Hernan Melendez, 17, guilty of second-degree murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a prohibited weapon.

Melendez, of Honduras, faces more than 50 years in prison but will likely be sentenced to between 13 1/2 years and 29 years under sentencing guidelines.

At about 2 a.m. Jan. 28, 2007, Melendez and two friends got into an argument with Andres Benitez near the Old Ebbitt Grill where Benitez worked as a dishwasher, prosecutors said.

Benitez retrieved a baseball bat and swung at the group, but the three men rushed him to the ground and started kicking him.

As Benitez lay on the ground, Melendez grabbed the bat and hit Benitez as many as 10 times until a bystander tried to break things up, authorities said.

Melendez struck the Good Samaritan in the head and resumed his attack on Benitez, pounding him five more times, authorities said.