Fridae

Community activists and politicians took to the streets last Thursday protesting the District Attorney's decision not to file hate crime charges against the three men in connection with the near-fatal beating of a gay man in West Hollywood, California.

The three men suspected of beating and robbing a gay actor with a metal pole and baseball bat were instead charged with assault, attempted robbery and conspiracy.

Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley said a review of the evidence determined the true motive of the assault was robbery and two of the defendants had been previously convicted of robbery.

There is no evidence that the Sept. 1 assault on actor Treve Broudy and his friend, Edward Ulett, was a hate crime because no anti-gay epithets were used, said the LA County district attorney's office.

Larry Walker, 29, his brother Vincent Dotson, 18, and Torwin Sessions, 19 were arraigned last Thursday in Beverly Hills on two counts each of assault with a deadly weapon and one count each of attempted robbery and conspiracy to commit a robbery.

They are suspected of attacking actor Treve Broudy on a quiet West Hollywood street last month after he hugged his (male) friend goodbye. Broudy suffered serious head injuries and was in critical condition for more than nine days at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. He remains hospitalised in stable condition, but faces long-term rehabilitation. Ulett was less severely injured.

According to a pres release from Cooley, if convicted, Sessions could face a maximum of 19 years in state prison, Walker could face up to 16 years and Dotson could spend up to six years in prison.

In a jailhouse interview, Sessions said the Sept. 1 attack was not planned and that he didn't know Broudy was gay.

Investigators are looking into whether Walker, Dotson and Sessions are connected to two other attacks on gay men that took place in the same general area of the attack on Broudy and Ulett.

The conspiracy charge alleges the second attack on Christopher Roehm as an overt act. Roehm was confronted by three men in the area about an hour before the attack on Broudy and Ulett, authorities said.

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On Sept. 22, an unnamed 55-year-old gay man was beaten as his attackers yelled anti-gay epithets. No charges have been filed as the victim has not been able to identify the assailants.

The decision not to pursue the incident as a hate crime immediately sparked controversy in West Hollywood, which has a substantial gay and lesbian population estimated to be nearly 30 percent.

About 300-500 people demonstrated on Thursday night, brandishing signs that said, "Justice is a PIPE dream" and "Cooley is as blind as a baseball."

"We're absolutely incredulous," said Mayor Pro Tem Steve Martin. "I guess there's a sense that the crime has been trivialized to some mundane, run-of-the-mill attempted robbery."

Speaking with a bullhorn, Captain Lynda Castro of the West Hollywood sheriff's station informed the crowd that her boss, Sheriff Lee Baca, had asked Cooley to amend the charges.

"After conferring with the district attorney, I'm requesting the charges be amended�contingent upon further investigation�to allow the charges to come forward with the hate-crime enhancement." Said Deputy Castro delivering a message from the Sheriff.

West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran argued that the facts of the case make the attacks hate crimes. He said the attacks took place 100 yards from gay clubs in a predominantly gay area and also noted that robbers generally use knives or guns, since they can be easily concealed.

"Those are not instruments that are used for an attempted robbery," he told the Los Angeles Times, referring to the baseball bat and pipe used in the attack that left Broudy in a coma for several days.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Nov. 4.