Police report and details sent to us this morning:
“HATE MOTIVATED ASSAULT
August 2, 2016
Mariam J. Belarj, 20, of Medford, New York
OFFICER VINTON
On 7/31/16 at approximately 2107hrs, Brattleboro Officers responded to Elliot St. for a report of an assault. Upon arrival they discovered two victims. A male was attacked randomly and struck repeatedly with a beer bottle, and a female passerby was attacked because she was black. The suspects, a male and female, shouted racial slurs as they assaulted the female.
The suspects fled down Elliot St. after the assault. The victims were treated for non life-threatening injuries. Vermont State Police and the Windham County Sheriff’s Department assisted Brattleboro PD in searching for the suspects. VSP deployed their K9 Unit.
The female suspect, Mariam J. Belarj, 20, was arrested by BPD for Disorderly Conduct: Hate Motivated, Aggravated Assault, Assault and Robbery, and Possession of Stolen Property. Belarj was held on bail. Belarj will appear in court at a later date to face the charges.
The male suspect is still at large. He is described as a white male with a blond pony tail, at least 6′ tall. Anyone with information about this suspect, please call the Brattleboro Police at 802-257-7950.
Reference: http://brattleboropolice.org/press/
From Facebook:
Shela Linton
15 hrs ·
If you have not been made aware, I am the person who was assaulted last night by this woman and man. I’m doing ok, but do need support in my life right now. Please if you have any information or can better describe the guy to the police, he is on the run and still not caught. Also if anyone knows the man who saved me from my face being smashed in, send me his contact and give him a high five, thank you and lots of love. Thank you guy, with the wife, in the big truck for saving me…
Also: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154489456770982&set=a.10151622691170982.1073741824.685530981&type=3&theater “
Stop it!
Awful, and stupid.
If you need anything Shela (and gentleman), let us know.
This might help
Talking with a family member about this, the ID of this person might be found rather quickly by going to Mariam J. Belarj’s facebok page. In fact, we wondered if the police utilize FB as a resource in cases like this; there are ample pictures of a guy with long blonde hair and a zillion “friends” of hers who might be able to at least name the individual if not provide a current location. But I’d act quickly; seems a few changes had been made between the time this family member went snooping and the time I went to take a look myself. At the very least, Shela might be able to ID him.. if this page indeed belongs to the person arrested.
PS
If any content has been removed since I last looked, I took a couple of screen shots and downloaded as best I was able, 120 pages of “friends”.. just contact me if any of this info is needed (that is, if the page has been removed or altered)
He has at least three
He has at least three profiles on FB, as far as what I can see. The police know about all of them.
FYI, caught
HATE MOTIVATED ASSAULT
August 3, 2016
Patrick W. Poillon, 21 year old from Brattleboro VT
OFFICER M PETLOCK
On 7/31/16, Brattleboro Police Officers responded to Elliot St. for a report of an assault. Upon arrival they discovered two victims. A male was attacked randomly and struck repeatedly with a beer bottle, and a female passerby was attacked as well. The suspects, a male and female, shouted racial slurs as they assaulted the female.
The suspects fled down Elliot St. after the assault. The victims were treated for non life-threatening injuries. Vermont State Police and the Windham County Sheriff’s Department assisted Brattleboro PD in searching for the suspects. VSP deployed their K9 Unit.
The female suspect, Mariam J. Belarj, 20, was arrested by BPD for Disorderly Conduct: Hate Motivated, Aggravated Assault, Assault and Robbery, and Possession of Stolen Property. Belarj was held on bail. Belarj will appear in court at a later date to face the charges.
The male suspect who fled the scene was apprehended on Elliot Street during the early morning hours of 08/03/16. The male subject, identified to be Patrick Wayne Poillon, was arrested without further incident. Poillon was treated for minor injuries sustained from the original incident. Poillon was held on bail and will appear in the Windham County Superior Court at a later date for the following offenses; Assault and Robbery, Aggravated Disorderly Conduct, Hate Motivated Crime, Simple Assault and Resisting Arrest.
Update from the Root Social Justice Center
Forwarded message:
Shela is doing okay. Not great, not terrible. She is looking for support, not help. And really wants any conversations being had around the assault to focus on love and healing, for both her and the folks involved. What has come to light from all of this is the need for healing in black communities and POC communities, and the need for resources for folks of color to create healing spaces and support each other.
Therefore, here is a short list of what Shela is looking for moving forward.
• To spread the word for POC to participate in the I Am Vermont Too project by posting their photo to Facebook along with naming racial micro-aggressions they’ve experienced.
• Donate money to Black Lives Matter VT by sending checks to The Root. You can make checks out to The Root and write BLM VT in the memo line. As mentioned above, this assault has highlighted the need for healing within communities of color and that healing takes resources.
• Shela has a friend in town who is a great chef, so supporting that by giving food $ or gift certificates to the Coop or something would be awesome. That can be sent to The Root (28 Williams St. Brattleboro 05301).
We are working on getting crowdfunding set up, and I’ll let you know when that happens. But in the meantime checks or cash can be sent to The Root.
And please share this with people who are interested.
—
The Root Social Justice Center
28 Williams St., Ground Fl.
Brattleboro, VT 05301
802-254-3400
http://www.therootsjc.org
Donations to Support Shela
from The Root SJC:
Here are the two links for online donations to Shela. Please pass on to others who you know would like to support Shela during this time.
https://www.gofundme.com/healingforShela
https://www.gofund.me/healingforPOC
People who prefer not to give money in this way can send checks to The Root – made out to The Root and/or to Shela.
28 Williams St Brattleboro