Lugo

A couple whose life savings were seized as suspected drug money got their money back from Baltimore County yesterday, but they said that the aftermath of the police raid has cost them thousands of dollars.Nury Barrera Lugo and her husband, Jose Luis Lugo, were not charged with any crime after Baltimore and Baltimore County police broke through the door of their Essex apartment Dec. 10, 1993.By last April, they were desperate for money and hired attorney Bryan A. Levitt, who filed a civil action against the county.

As Expedito "Pedro" Lugo sat in a wheelchair with tears in his eyes, a Baltimore Circuit Court judge accepted guilty pleas yesterday from three teen-agers who nearly beat him to death last spring in Patterson Park.Two of the defendants, James Holley, 16, and Andre Flythe, 19, pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder and the prosecution recommended 20-year prison terms for them with all but seven to 10 years suspended.The third attacker, Keith Robinson, 16, who admitted to bludgeoning Mr. Lugo in the head with a wooden baseball bat, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder.

As Expedito "Pedro" Lugo sat in a wheelchair with tears in his eyes, a Baltimore Circuit Court judge accepted guilty pleas from three teen-agers who beat him nearly to death last spring in Patterson Park.One of them, Keith Robinson, 16, who admitted hitting Mr. Lugo in the head with a wooden baseball bat, pleaded guilty yesterday to attempted first-degree murder. A life sentence with all but 30 years suspended has been recommended for Robinson.The other two defendants, James Holley, 16, and Andre Flythe, 19, pleaded guilty yesterday to attempted second-degree murder.

Saying it was a "horrendous, horrible crime," a Baltimore Circuit Court judge yesterday rejected pleas for leniency and imposed stiff sentences on three teen-agers who beat a man during an unprovoked attack in Patterson Park on May 17.Expedito "Pedro" Lugo, a 24-year-old immigrant from the Dominican Republic, suffered crippling brain damage after he was clubbed with a baseball bat while he lay on the ground.Judge Elsbeth Bothe imposed a 25-year prison term on Keith Robinson, 16, the youth who wielded the bat. Two other defendants, Andre Flythe, 19, and James Holley, 16, received 10-year sentences for their less-violent roles in the attack.

Nearly a year after Expedito "Pedro" Lugo was brutally beaten with his own baseball bat near Patterson Park, the question remains: Why?Was the attack by black teen-agers against the Hispanic man racial? Was it retaliatory? Or was it unprovoked, a random confrontation that flashed out of control?On the eve of the trial of the teen-agers charged with the attack, people close to the case say it had nothing to do with race or retaliation. Investigators, witnesses and lawyers describe a senseless onslaught -- a chilling example of random violence and disregard for human life.

Expedito "Pedro" Lugo was eager to get to Patterson Park to break in the new baseball bat his brother had brought him from the Dominican Republic.The Lugos, a close-knit and religious family, had emigrated from the Dominican Republic in search of a better life. They had found it in East Baltimore.But what happened May 17 as Mr. Lugo walked to the park to play baseball has destroyed his family's contented life in America. It also has nearly destroyed him.Mr. Lugo, a slender 24-year-old, was beaten by several teen-agers and smashed in the head with his own bat.He nearly died, and spent four weeks in a coma at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

A Baltimore Circuit Court judge today sentenced three defendants in the June 1991 attack on Pedro Lugo, who was severely beaten with a baseball bat in Patterson Park.At the sentencing hearing, Judge Elsbeth L. Bothe, called the attack a "horrendous, horrible crime, utterly senseless, committed with the friendly weapon of a baseball bat."Keith Robinson, 16, of Baltimore, was sentenced to life in prison with all but 25 years suspended. He pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder.Two other defendants, James Holley, 16, and Andre Flythe, 19, both of Baltimore, were sentenced to 20 years in prison, with 10 years suspended.

The 86-year-old woman murdered alone in her apartment. The man shot watching Fourth of July fireworks. The 18-year-old man gunned down senselessly on the street.The Rev. Richard Poetzel led funeral masses for all three in the past 14 months at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Highlandtown. The mourners always ask, Why?"Unfortunately, I don't have the answers," Father Poetzel told a gathering of Southeast Baltimore residents yesterday. "I know that all of us, as we confront neighborhood violence, can and must make our presence felt."

Two teen-agers were charged yesterday with beating a 45-year-old man to death early Thursday morning in Patterson Park in a robbery that police said netted less than $10.Killed in the attack was James Charles Turch of the 2300 block of East Fayette Street, whose body was found shortly after 5 a.m. Thursday by a passer-by. The body was near a park path about 120 feet from Eastern Avenue.Mr. Turch was bludgeoned to death with a large piece of wood and suffered severe head trauma, according to the autopsy report.

Expedito "Pedro" Lugo, whose near fatal beating alongside Patterson Park last month drew attention to rising violence among students in Southeast Baltimore, has regained consciousness and was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital yesterday.Mr. Lugo's skull was fractured when he was beaten with a baseball bat on May 17, leaving him unconscious and on a life support system at Johns Hopkins Hospital.In the first weeks, his older sister, Maria Ramona Arias said her family feared that her brother would never open his eyes again.

A recap of the Orioles' 7-3 win over the Red Sox last night: No no-no Making his second major league start on Sept. 1, Boston Red Sox rookie Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter against the Orioles. He returned from Triple-A Pawtucket last night to face them again but didn't come close to duplicating his historic feat. Leadoff hitter Brian Roberts lined a double down the left-field line, stole third base and scored on Adam Jones' sacrifice fly. Buchholz also walked three batters in the inning and surrendered a run-scoring single to Melvin Mora.

ASUNCION, Paraguay -- A former Roman Catholic Church bishop won a historic victory yesterday in this impoverished country's presidential election, ending the 61-year reign of the world's longest ruling party. With 83 percent of polling stations reporting, Fernando Lugo received 40.7 percent of 1.57 million ballots cast. Running a distant second was former Education Minister Blanca Ovelar, the candidate of the long-ruling Colorado Party, who got 30.8 percent. Former general and ex-Colorado Lino Oviedo garnered 22 percent.

Adam Everett Astros shortstop He is the only shortstop who has played more than 12 games at the position this season without an error. Julio Lugo Devil Rays shortstop He is 6-for-33 since returning to the lineup after missing 28 games because of an abdominal injury.

The Orioles and Tampa Bay Devil Rays played through 11 innings of rain last night, while a crowd of 32,139 at Camden Yards gradually dwindled to a scattered few loyalists. Those who remained saw some rare feats, from Melvin Mora's first career grand slam, to some uncanny defensive plays, to a Devil Rays pitching staff issuing 12 walks as the Orioles overcame an early five-run deficit. After taking an eighth-inning lead, the Orioles saw closer Jorge Julio squander it in the ninth. And by the 11th, the fans were booing beneath their umbrellas, as the Devil Rays scored the winning run off this season's pincushion, Mike DeJean.

A 29-year-old Edgewood man was being held last night, accused of attacking his girlfriend in their home with a sword, taking her car, leading police on a five-mile chase along U.S. 40 and trying to ram a state trooper's cruiser before being forced to a stop, authorities said. Edwin Lugo of the 200 block of Sedgemore Court was being held at the Harford County Detention Center on two counts of first-degree assault and several assault and traffic offenses. State police in Bel Air said the incident began shortly after 7 a.m. when they responded to a 911 call reporting that a woman, Tracy Denise Harris, 30, was being assaulted with a "Samurai-style sword" at the home she shares with Lugo.

At Oriole Park at Camden Yards Day Time TV Starters Tonight 7:05 CSN Seth McClung (3-1, 4.66) vs. Jason Johnson (4-1, 2.21) Tomorrow 7:05 54, 66 Jeremi Gonzalez (0-0, 0.00) vs. Pat Hentgen (0-0, 4.81) Sunday 1:35 54, 66 Joe Kennedy (3-3, 5.65) vs. Omar Daal (2-5, 5.01) Radio: All games on WBAL (1090 AM) Devil Rays update Having already added baseball outcast John Rocker to its roster this season, Tampa Bay went one step further yesterday, signing Julio Lugo, who was arrested for allegedly attacking his wife last month and waived by the Houston Astros.

What in the name of the "Splendid Splinter" and "Sultan of Swat" is going on here? You would think "Gonzo," as in "Going, Going, Gonzo," would be the perfect nickname for a power hitter like the Arizona Diamondbacks' Luis Gonzalez. Gonzalez thought so, too. It's what fans call him. It's what players call him. It's on the name of his children's charity. A stuffed Gonzo, of the Muppets, has a prominent place in his locker. Then, one day recently, he turned on ESPN's SportsCenter and heard himself referred to as "Lu-Go."

A couple whose life savings were seized as suspected drug money got their money back from Baltimore County yesterday, but they said that the aftermath of the police raid has cost them thousands of dollars.Nury Barrera Lugo and her husband, Jose Luis Lugo, were not charged with any crime after Baltimore and Baltimore County police broke through the door of their Essex apartment Dec. 10, 1993.By last April, they were desperate for money and hired attorney Bryan A. Levitt, who filed a civil action against the county.

The 86-year-old woman murdered alone in her apartment. The man shot watching Fourth of July fireworks. The 18-year-old man gunned down senselessly on the street.The Rev. Richard Poetzel led funeral masses for all three in the past 14 months at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Highlandtown. The mourners always ask, Why?"Unfortunately, I don't have the answers," Father Poetzel told a gathering of Southeast Baltimore residents yesterday. "I know that all of us, as we confront neighborhood violence, can and must make our presence felt."

Saying it was a "horrendous, horrible crime," a Baltimore Circuit Court judge yesterday rejected pleas for leniency and imposed stiff sentences on three teen-agers who beat a man during an unprovoked attack in Patterson Park on May 17.Expedito "Pedro" Lugo, a 24-year-old immigrant from the Dominican Republic, suffered crippling brain damage after he was clubbed with a baseball bat while he lay on the ground.Judge Elsbeth Bothe imposed a 25-year prison term on Keith Robinson, 16, the youth who wielded the bat. Two other defendants, Andre Flythe, 19, and James Holley, 16, received 10-year sentences for their less-violent roles in the attack.