October 11, 2002
Gfn.com News
At a ceremony in West Hollywood, Calif., on Thursday to remember
Matthew Shepard, who was murdered in Wyoming four years ago, Los Angeles mayor
James K. Hahn called on the Los Angeles district attorney to reconsider his
decision against filing hate-crime charges in a West Hollywood attack last
month, the Los Angeles Times reports. Hahn said district attorney Steve Cooley's decision regarding the attack against two gay men on September 1 "sends the wrong message.... If he needs more time to investigate it, take the time and make the decision correctly."
Yesterday, in his first interview since his nearly fatal beating at
the hands of his attackers, actor Trev Broudy told the Santa Barbara [Calif.]
News-Press he is angered over the decision by the district attorney's office not
to charge the three alleged attackers with a hate crime. Broudy said the only motivation he can see for the attack is his sexual orientation, adding that he doesn't remember much of the attack and that it's difficult for him to remember many of the details leading up to it.
Broudy and Edward Ulett were attacked late September 1 after they embraced outside Broudy's home in West Hollywood. Police say the three suspected attackers beat the men with a baseball bat and metal pipe. The men are then believed to have attacked two other gay men in West Hollywood over the next two weeks.
Three south Los Angeles men have pleaded innocent to two counts each of assault with a deadly weapon and one count each of attempted robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. They all were jailed in lieu of bail. Prosecutors have said previously that investigators determined that the motive for the attack was robbery and not the victim's sexual orientation.
On Wednesday protesters picketed outside Cooley's office, calling for his removal. If the men are convicted on all counts, their prison terms would range from six to 20 years.