Final suspect, 15, in brutal Brooklyn McDonald's brawl arrested

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (WABC) -- The final teen suspect in the brutal McDonald's attack that was caught on video in Brooklyn is under arrest.

The 15-year-old girl, Tashema Beepat, was brought with her mother to the Downtown Brooklyn precinct after police went to her home at 9:45 p.m. Wednesday.

She made confirmed she was involved in the attack, police say, and was charged with robbery and gang assault. Beepat was released Thursday night and was expected back in court Friday.

A 14-year-old girl nabbed in Atlanta was flown back to Brooklyn earlier Thursday, and she has been charged as a juvenile with robbery and gang assault. Her case has been referred to family court. Authorities are considering charging her mother with facilitating her attempt to leave the country.

It is believed she stomped on the victim's head along with alleged ringleader Aniah Ferguson. They are considered by law enforcement to have been the most violent of the group.

Suspect Tilani Marshall, 17, was released on $75,000 bail posted by her family.

Sixteen-year-old Mercedes Wilkinson, 15-year-old Dahvina Gonzalez and Marshall were arraigned Saturday. Ferguson, 16, was indicted on charges of felony attempted gang assault.

She was the first person to be arrested in the incident, which came to light via a YouTube video last week.

Ferguson has 10 prior arrests, including one for an assault as recently as last month. Authorities said she beat up her 64-year-old grandmother, stabbed her brother with a kitchen knife and injured a police officer during an arrest for violating an order of protection.

Police said Ferguson made statements to detectives during questioning that indicated she had been looking for the victim since January because of an ongoing dispute.

She reportedly got the tip on the afternoon of March 9 that Ferguson was at a nearby McDonald's, so she mobilized her crew. Since there is more than one McDonald's in the area, she split the members of her group to search multiple locations.

Police say several of the girls involved in the fight have gang affiliations.

Wilkinson was led out of the 70th Precinct in handcuffs on Saturday night. She is charged with second-degree gang assault as an adult in connection with a brutal beating at the restaurant. She turned herself in to police and is being held on $50,000 bail.

Earlier Saturday, Marshall stood in front of a judge, also facing adult charges in the case, though her attorney, Audrey Thomas, insists her client wasn't involved.

"I've reviewed all of the tapes, and I don't see my client on any of the tapes," Thomas said.

However, police say Marshall and Gonzalez, who both turned themselves in, were right in the middle of the fight that left another teenage girl with a concussion and several other injuries.

Ferguson and other members of her crew found the victim at the McDonald's, where Ferguson allegedly attacked first. They knocked the victim to the ground, where Ferguson repeatedly stomped her.

After the attack, she allegedly stole the victim's coat, phone and make-up bag, and threw them in the trash.

The brawl sparked action in the community. Activists held the vigil for peace and to denounce such violence. "Yeah, this was the call to action - to say enough is enough," community advocate Tony Herbert said.

Herbert recently announced a new task force called "One Family, One Community."

"That's going to allow us to talk to leaders and parents and organizations all over the city - even in Nassau and Suffolk counties," he said. "We're going to come together and we're going to get ahead of this curve and stop this violence."

"Young people don't have positive images in front of them," Herbert said. "They get these dumb reality TV shows, the violent video games and the music."

It is Herbert's plan, along with community leaders, parents, children and other organizations, to begin to change this type of behavior.

"We know there is a lack of programming, lack of funding, resources that these young people can plug into, so what do we do?" he asked. "We engage those young people to have that access."