Sentencing in death
of gay man
on Brooklyn parkway
By AP from the Web,
November 20, 2007
NEW YORK -- Three thugs who
beat a gay man and then chased him onto a parkway, where he was struck by a car
and was killed, were sentenced Tuesday to prison, prosecutors said.
All three had been part of what prosecutors called a hate-inspired robbery
scheme. On Oct. 8, 2006, they found Michael Sandy in an Internet chat room
frequented by gay men, lured him out to Brooklyn's remote Plum Beach with a
promise of a date and then attacked him.
When Sandy tried to escape, he was hit by a car on the Belt Parkway.
Anthony Fortunato, 21, who had told jurors they shouldn't convict him of a hate
crime because he's gay, too, was sentenced to seven to 21 years in prison for
second-degree manslaughter as a hate crime and attempted petit larceny.
John Fox, 20, was sentenced to seven to 21 years in prison for second-degree
manslaughter as a hate crime and attempted robbery as a hate crime.
Ilya Shurov, 21, who pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison for
second-degree manslaughter as a hate crime and attempted robbery as a hate
crime.
A fourth man, Gary Timmons, had already pleaded guilty to attempted robbery as a
hate crime and testified in the case in exchange for a four-year sentence.
Fortunato claimed in court that the attack was not motivated by hate, but
prosecutors argued that, under state hate crimes law, they didn't have to prove
that Sandy's attackers hated gay men -- only that they picked their victim
because of his sexual orientation.
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