'Bad Boys' tied to bias attacks on Hispanics

At least five violent bias attacks and robberies against Hispanics in Plainfield and North Plainfield have been linked to a group of men known as the "Bajan Bad Boys," who bragged about their "wreck a Rican" attacks, authorities said. New details about the series of brutal baseball bat assaults that put the Hispanic community on edge this summer came with the arrest of a Plainfield man who owned the minivan used in the crimes, according to Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest. Dexter Pereira, 27, of Plainfield, was arraigned yesterday on first-degree robbery, first-degree bias intimidation and second-degree aggravated assault charges in the June 10 beating of a North Plainfield man. He could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the bias intimidation charge. His bail was set at $100,000. The victim, Oscar A. Romero-Figeuroa, 50, sustained multiple skull fractures, cranial bleeding, brain swelling and a broken hand when three men viciously beat him while he was walking home from work, police said. He continues to suffer from partial paralysis, police said. An unnamed informant told investigators that Pereira and three other Plainfield men  discussed in detail committing the attack on Romero-Figeuroa, police said. [more ]