Cleveland Man Pummeled to Death by 15, Urinated On and Stripped in the Street

CLEVELAND — Even by tough, urban crime standards it was a grisly attack: Up to 15 people chased a man, then kicked and beat him to death on the street. Before police arrived, one attacker urinated on the victim's head.

By the time Charles Gooden Jr., 41, took his final steps, the crime-hardened neighborhood had awakened and two people, talking in matter-of-fact tones, reported a man down, his clothes being dragged off. "You got a male being assaulted by 15 other guys. He's laying on the street," one 911 caller said.

It happened before dawn on April 27 on a street within a 10-minute drive of the city's skyscrapers, sports venues and tourist attractions, but across a chasm of poverty and crime in the most murder-ridden neighborhood in one of America's poorest cities.

Latangia Anderson, 23, Johnny Brown, 20, and Paris Moore, 19, all of Cleveland, have been charged with aggravated murder and each pleaded not guilty Monday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Bond was set at $1 million for each.The defendants said they were unable to afford an attorney and had lawyers appointed to represent them.

The attorneys said they couldn't comment on the case. Police expect more arrests.

*It should be obvious what color the victim was and what color his 15 assailants were because the media didn't mention a word about it. If it had been 15 white guys beating a black guy to death it would be national news.