(Los Angeles, California)  Two men charged the attacks of a gay man and a transgendered woman in Los Angeles have been ordered to stand trial on charges carrying hate crime enhancements.

In  Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Fahey ruled that there was sufficient evidence to require Ever Rivera, 20, and Selvin Campos, 19, both of Los Angeles, to stand trial on two counts each of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of second-degree robbery.

The hate crime allegations were added to the charges after prosecutors concluded the alleged attackers thought their victims were gay.

One of the victims, a gay man testified that he was struck in the head with a bat by a pair of assailants who took his house key. The man, who identified Rivera and Campos in court, said he had to receive 14 stitches for his injuries.

Shortly after that attack, a 19-year-old transgender woman told police that anti-gay slurs were hurled during another baseball bat attack. She escaped with only a few cuts and bruises.

Rivera remain jailed in lieu of $185,000 bail and Campos remains behind bars in lieu of $135,000.

The attacks occurred a month after gay actor Trev Broudy and a friend were beaten by two men in West Hollywood.  In that case, the Los Angeles District Attorney refused to seek hate crime enhancements saying the attackers had not used anti-gay epithets, a requirement for gaining a conviction.

Broudy was rendered unconscious after receiving severe blows the the head with a baseball bat.  He was in a coma for more than a week and is undergoing extensive physiotherapy expected to last at least a year.

The decision not to raise the charges to include hate crimes resulted in a protest by in front of the District Attorney's office, and a rally in West Hollywood. 

©365Gay.com Ltd® 2003

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