Mimicking gang behavior can be tragic
White Plains Street life ends violently for a troubled young man
By SHAWN COHEN AND RICHARD LIEBSON
spcohen@lohud.com
THE JOURNAL NEWS
April 2, 2006
Jermaine Pelletier's love for gangster rap and its trappings — baggy pants, do-rags and bandannas — made him something of an outsider at Cortlandt's Walter Panas High School.
On his 20th birthday, that passion for the "original gangster" look may have cost him his life.
Pelletier was killed at a busy White Plains intersection Monday night — stabbed in the neck during a street fight that authorities say started over his refusal to take off his bandanna. Three men have been charged, and police said more arrests are possible.
He "was wearing a bandanna and other clothing that suggested a gang affiliation," Public Safety Commissioner Frank Straub said. "Whether or not there was actual gang involvement is still under investigation, but the perception that he was in a gang may have sparked the incident."
The violence devastated Pelletier's friends and family, who say that after a troubled start that included abandonment, learning disabilities, jail time and homelessness, the tall, thin, young man seemed finally to be trying to turn his life around.
"He did appear to be making some real strides and efforts toward getting his life together," said Paul Anderson-Winchell, executive director of Grace Church Community Center, which was providing him services through its Open Arms day program. He was recently given an "interview suit," which he wore to a job fair a week before he was killed. "That makes it that much more tragic."
Pelletier, who had been staying at the Westchester County homeless drop-in shelter after a jail stint, fought a lifelong struggle to fit in, friends and family said.
"He was feeling like he never belonged because he was adopted and because he was (black) and (his adoptive parents) are Caucasian," said his friend and former Walter Panas classmate, Charity Janoni of Walden. "He would do anything, just to be accepted."
Given up by his birth parents, Pelletier was taken in as a foster child at age 2 by Daniel and Vida Pelletier, who "instantly fell in love with him," Daniel Pelletier said. "You had to know Jermaine. You had to see his smile and hear his laugh and feel his warmth."
The Pelletiers adopted Jermaine when he was 6. In high school, he was placed in special education because of difficulties concentrating and learning. When his parents divorced, he blamed himself.
"He felt like he might have been the cause of the divorce, to be honest," Janoni said. "He felt like he was a little bit of the problem. He took things to heart too much."
His best friend, Steven Casado, said Pelletier often wore military fatigues or baggy pants and bandannas to school, which made him a target for teasing.
"He wasn't a gangster, but he liked wearing gang stuff," Casado said. "Kids made fun of him, and you could tell that it bothered him and made him mad, but he would hold it in. Jermaine always just wanted to fit in, but kids made fun of him, so he kept to himself."
Casado, who was in Pelletier's special education class, said their friendship grew because "we were isolated from the rest of the school." They shared an interest in rap music and made a number of compact discs, which they played for classmates. Their plan, Casado said, was to make a good demo and give it to Daniel Pelletier, a software engineer, in the hope "that he could pass it along to someone who could help take us to the next level. We never did make one that we thought was good enough."
In 2004, Jermaine's parents sent him to Hawthorne Cedar Knolls, a residential treatment center for troubled youths. "He was struggling at Panas, so we were looking for a more structured environment for him," Daniel Pelletier said.
Allowed family visits on weekends, Jermaine brought presents for his younger stepbrother and stepsister, his father said. He made decorated pillows and other gifts, because he had little money.
Pelletier left Cedar Knolls last year without finishing and dropped in and out of a drug rehab program in Ellenville. He spent time in New York City, then moved in with a friend in Lake Peekskill. He told friends there were too many gangs in the city. He met and began hanging out with 20-year-old Jonathan Felton, playing video games and scrounging to get by.
By that time, his parents were reluctant to let him come home.
"It became clear I couldn't guarantee the safety of the rest of my family with the people Jermaine was associating with," Daniel Pelletier said.
In May, Felton and Pelletier were arrested for setting a fire in the bathroom of an Applebee's restaurant in Cortlandt so they could skip out on a $27 dinner bill.
"We didn't have any money," Felton said. "We ended up setting off the fire alarms so everybody in the restaurant would leave."
The pair pleaded guilty to arson and were sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years' probation. Pelletier was released from jail in February. With nowhere to go, he drifted to White Plains and got involved with Open Arms.
"He was trying to get into the (shelter) system," said Geoff Ruff, a drop-in center client who befriended Pelletier. "He wasn't a bad kid. He was pretty much easily influenced. ... He was a wannabe. He'd wear a purple bandanna, a yellow bandanna. But he wasn't a gang member. The fantasy of it was appealing to him."
Police said people at the center were planning a little birthday party for Pelletier the night he wandered over to Post Road and Lexington Avenue, began arguing with a group of men and apparently was killed over a bandanna.
"Clearly, this incident demonstrates that whether someone is actively a gang member or not, wearing the wrong clothes or mimicking gang behavior, the results can be tragic," Straub said.
As he prepared for the funeral, Daniel Pelletier was clearly shaken by his son's violent death.
"He had his troubles, but I always felt like his better nature would win the day in the long run," he said. "I often reminded him of that."
By SHAWN COHEN AND RICHARD LIEBSON
spcohen@lohud.com
THE JOURNAL NEWS
April 2, 2006
Jermaine Pelletier's love for gangster rap and its trappings — baggy pants, do-rags and bandannas — made him something of an outsider at Cortlandt's Walter Panas High School.
On his 20th birthday, that passion for the "original gangster" look may have cost him his life.
Pelletier was killed at a busy White Plains intersection Monday night — stabbed in the neck during a street fight that authorities say started over his refusal to take off his bandanna. Three men have been charged, and police said more arrests are possible.
He "was wearing a bandanna and other clothing that suggested a gang affiliation," Public Safety Commissioner Frank Straub said. "Whether or not there was actual gang involvement is still under investigation, but the perception that he was in a gang may have sparked the incident."
The violence devastated Pelletier's friends and family, who say that after a troubled start that included abandonment, learning disabilities, jail time and homelessness, the tall, thin, young man seemed finally to be trying to turn his life around.
"He did appear to be making some real strides and efforts toward getting his life together," said Paul Anderson-Winchell, executive director of Grace Church Community Center, which was providing him services through its Open Arms day program. He was recently given an "interview suit," which he wore to a job fair a week before he was killed. "That makes it that much more tragic."
Pelletier, who had been staying at the Westchester County homeless drop-in shelter after a jail stint, fought a lifelong struggle to fit in, friends and family said.
"He was feeling like he never belonged because he was adopted and because he was (black) and (his adoptive parents) are Caucasian," said his friend and former Walter Panas classmate, Charity Janoni of Walden. "He would do anything, just to be accepted."
Given up by his birth parents, Pelletier was taken in as a foster child at age 2 by Daniel and Vida Pelletier, who "instantly fell in love with him," Daniel Pelletier said. "You had to know Jermaine. You had to see his smile and hear his laugh and feel his warmth."
The Pelletiers adopted Jermaine when he was 6. In high school, he was placed in special education because of difficulties concentrating and learning. When his parents divorced, he blamed himself.
"He felt like he might have been the cause of the divorce, to be honest," Janoni said. "He felt like he was a little bit of the problem. He took things to heart too much."
His best friend, Steven Casado, said Pelletier often wore military fatigues or baggy pants and bandannas to school, which made him a target for teasing.
"He wasn't a gangster, but he liked wearing gang stuff," Casado said. "Kids made fun of him, and you could tell that it bothered him and made him mad, but he would hold it in. Jermaine always just wanted to fit in, but kids made fun of him, so he kept to himself."
Casado, who was in Pelletier's special education class, said their friendship grew because "we were isolated from the rest of the school." They shared an interest in rap music and made a number of compact discs, which they played for classmates. Their plan, Casado said, was to make a good demo and give it to Daniel Pelletier, a software engineer, in the hope "that he could pass it along to someone who could help take us to the next level. We never did make one that we thought was good enough."
In 2004, Jermaine's parents sent him to Hawthorne Cedar Knolls, a residential treatment center for troubled youths. "He was struggling at Panas, so we were looking for a more structured environment for him," Daniel Pelletier said.
Allowed family visits on weekends, Jermaine brought presents for his younger stepbrother and stepsister, his father said. He made decorated pillows and other gifts, because he had little money.
Pelletier left Cedar Knolls last year without finishing and dropped in and out of a drug rehab program in Ellenville. He spent time in New York City, then moved in with a friend in Lake Peekskill. He told friends there were too many gangs in the city. He met and began hanging out with 20-year-old Jonathan Felton, playing video games and scrounging to get by.
By that time, his parents were reluctant to let him come home.
"It became clear I couldn't guarantee the safety of the rest of my family with the people Jermaine was associating with," Daniel Pelletier said.
In May, Felton and Pelletier were arrested for setting a fire in the bathroom of an Applebee's restaurant in Cortlandt so they could skip out on a $27 dinner bill.
"We didn't have any money," Felton said. "We ended up setting off the fire alarms so everybody in the restaurant would leave."
The pair pleaded guilty to arson and were sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years' probation. Pelletier was released from jail in February. With nowhere to go, he drifted to White Plains and got involved with Open Arms.
"He was trying to get into the (shelter) system," said Geoff Ruff, a drop-in center client who befriended Pelletier. "He wasn't a bad kid. He was pretty much easily influenced. ... He was a wannabe. He'd wear a purple bandanna, a yellow bandanna. But he wasn't a gang member. The fantasy of it was appealing to him."
Police said people at the center were planning a little birthday party for Pelletier the night he wandered over to Post Road and Lexington Avenue, began arguing with a group of men and apparently was killed over a bandanna.
"Clearly, this incident demonstrates that whether someone is actively a gang member or not, wearing the wrong clothes or mimicking gang behavior, the results can be tragic," Straub said.
As he prepared for the funeral, Daniel Pelletier was clearly shaken by his son's violent death.
"He had his troubles, but I always felt like his better nature would win the day in the long run," he said. "I often reminded him of that."
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