Gay Basher Arrest
Fort Lauderdale activist and video artist Stephen Velky (left photo) can rest a little easier these days. This past Tuesday morning police arrested the 21-year-old man who allegedly bashed Velky Jan. 6. Police arrested Damian Nicholaus Serrano (right photo) three weeks after Serrano allegedly attacked Velky in the front yard of Velky’s home in Riverland. Serrano, who lives just two blocks away from Velky, was charged with aggravated battery and violating probation on a previous drug arrest. Police picked up Serrano at the county probation office. “I’m feeling a lot better,” Velky said after he learned of the arrest. “I’m really happy that he’s been arrested and there’s a chance for justice.” As with many victims of violent crimes, Velky, 38, relives the all-too-real scenario each time he tells the story, and his eyes get watery and he trembles a bit as he tells it. “It all started with him calling me a fucking faggot,” Velky said. “During the whole time he was taunting me about keeping [my sexuality] in my house and not wanting to see it.” Until the incident Velky said, he and his partner Oscar Caballero, felt safe in the fixer-upper they moved into three years ago. He describes his neighborhood as a diverse mix of black and Latino families as well as a few gay households. Serrano allegedly attacked Velky around 10 p.m. after Velky approached a group of young people who were hanging out outside his neighbor’s house, making a lot of noise on the 500 block of SW 24 Street. The confrontation escalated when one of the youths threw a rock that hit Velky on the back. When he turned around, Velky said, Serrrano began spouting off homophobic epithets at him. Velky tried to get Serrano to join his group of friends, who had dispersed. But Serrano was determined and belligerent, Velky remembers.
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The Toronto lawyer representing the road manager of the Black Eyed Peas said his client will not be pleading guilty to allegations that he beat up celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.
Polo Molina, 36, who works for the chart-topping American band, was scheduled to appear at a downtown Toronto court Wednesday afternoon. Instead, Mark Sandler, an affable, veteran Toronto lawyer, stood briefly in court on his behalf.
He said the Crown attorneys have provided him with the disclosure which details the allegations against his client. Molina does not have to attend court until the case goes to trial and that may not be for another several months, he said.
"He won't be pleading guilty," Sandler later said.
Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, alleges that Molina punched him in the face outside a Toronto nightclub after the MuchMusic Video Awards on June 22.
Hilton immediately sent messages via Twitter indicating that he had been in a fight with the Peas' entourage.
Molina subsequently turned himself in to Toronto police and was later charged with assault.
Days later, Hilton filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Molina, alleging battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He is seeking unspecified damages.
The suit said Molina punched Hilton several times, injuring an eye "in what can only be described as a spineless act."
Hilton has said Molina was angry with him for making negative comments about the band's latest album, The E.N.D., which debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart in June. The blogger also has admitted to calling Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am an anti-gay slur at a club the night of the altercation.
The criminal case will return to court on Aug. 26.
Canadian News Agency Reporting
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A man brutally beaten in New York City was targeted because he is openly gay, the New York Police Department said Monday. Two men shouting "anti-gay remarks" viciously beat Jack Price, 49, as he left a 24-hour deli on College Point Boulevard in Queens early Friday morning, police said. Price is being treated at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens, where "he is in fair condition and his vital signs are stable," said hospital spokeswoman Camela Morrissey.
