Two private attorneys and a public defender joined forces as unlikely allies to represent a Columbia man they believe was wrongfully charged with attempted murder.
“We feel he was inappropriately charged with a very serious crime,” said Janette DeBoissiere, assistant public defender. “Normally I would step out of a case with a private attorney, but I didn?t want to let go of this case. We all felt very strongly about fighting for him.”
Euginio Boyate, 25, was charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder and first-degree assault after a rumble in October 2006 outside La Palapa restaurant in Ellicott City that left one man with life-threatening stab wounds.
Prosecutors agreed Monday to a plea bargain, in which Boyate pleaded guilty to first-degree assault.
He could have faced up to eight years in prison, but Howard Circuit Judge Diane Leasure granted Boyate credit for the 342 days he spent incarcerated. Boyate is now facing deportation to Honduras, assistant state?s attorney Kim Oldham said.
Boyate?s case was assigned to DeBoissiere, but Boyate?s family asked private attorneys Ricardo Zwaig and Clarke Ahlers to represent him. The attorneys chose to do the case pro bono and work with the Office of the Public Defender. “This is one of those cases where the person who instigated a fight and bullied other people ends up getting really hurt … and suddenly all the sympathies go to him,” Zwaig said, referring to Marcel Camacho, who attempted to dance with the girlfriend of his longtime enemy Oscar Arras. Boyate, Arras? friend, was fighting on his behalf.
Camacho was stabbed and identified Boyate the following day, Oldham said.
But a judge threw out Boyate?s attempted first-degree murder charge, saying not enough evidence supported it. And in June, a jury acquitted Boyate of second-degree attempted murder, according to court records.
