 |
| Michael Sandy |
Four young men were arrested for luring a gay man to a remote location with an online promise of a sexual encounter, then attempting to rob him ó an incident that left the victim in critical condition after he ran into traffic to escape the attack, a police commander told the Associated Press Wednesday. The four, who range in age from 16 to 20, were arrested late Tuesday, according to a police commander who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the charges were still pending. Police had said they were investigating the Sunday attack as a possible bias incident, but it remained unclear whether the four would be charged with a bias crime. According to the New York Post, the victim, 28 year-old Michael Sandy was brain-dead at Brookdale Hospital, and his family was agonizing over whether to take him off a respirator and donate his organs.
The Post reports that the attackers had targeted Sandy in an online chat room.
The suspects are straight, so the meeting Sunday night was a set-up to steal from the gay man, the Postís sources said.
Sandy was beaten by at least two white men after he pulled his blue Mazda into the parking lot at the beach, a popular gay cruising spot between the Belt Parkway and Jamaica Bay.
According to the Post, police said Sandy broke free and ran onto the parkway, only to be hit by a car that kept going. The vehicle fled the scene, and police are searching for the driver.
Newsday reports that one suspect fled right away, but a second one dragged Sandy off the highway, then rifled through his pockets and went looking for something in the left lane of the Belt before also running off.
Newsdayís sources said it was believed two other men were at the scene but it was not clear where or what roles they played.
Police told Newsday that they found Sandy's cell phoneóbelieved to be the item one suspect was looking foróon the Belt and discovered his blue Mazda in the parking lot.
Outside the precinct Tuesday, State Sen. Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) announced a $1,000 reward in the Sandy case and said he will work to have the park's closing time moved to dusk, Newsday reports. The four, who were not identified by police, were expected to be arraigned later Wednesday.
