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Loading ...Suspect arrested in horrific PR hate crime; NYC vigil planned
A suspect has been arrested in the Puerto Rico murder and decapitation of gay teenager Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, according to an iReport by Christopher Pagan.:
The main suspect of the cruel murder of a young homosexual found in the area of Guavate Cayey, was arrested this morning and shall be taken to a judge today to face charges, confirmed the press of the Puerto Rico Police, Damaris Periera.She also indicted that two vehicles were taken into custody, and that there is a crime scene as well under police custody in the town of Cayey.
Pagan says that the FBI is now also involved and back2Stonewall says that the FBI is investigating the murder as a hate crime. Other reports from around the web say the suspect may have offered the victim money for sex.
Says the Associated Press in the first mainstream media coverage we’ve seen:
Police say they have arrested a suspect in the slaying of a teenager whose decapitated remains were found along a road in southern Puerto Rico.
Police commandant Eliezer Colon says the man was detained at his home early Tuesday morning. The suspect has not been identified because he has not been formally charged.
The burned and dismembered body of 19-year-old Jorge Steven Lopez was discovered Friday in a wooded area of the town of Cayey. Authorities are looking into whether he may have been targeted because he was gay.
Activist Pedro Julio Serrano called on authorities to treat the case as a hate crime if the investigation shows Lopez was killed because of his sexual orientation.
There will be a vigil at 8 p.m. Sunday in New York City. Americablog is calling on people to email Attorney General Eric Holder to ensure the murder is prosecuted as a hate crime.
Respectfully, I suggest calling on Holder to prosecute as a hate crime if in fact it was a hate crime. It doesn’t do use any good to demand that all violence against gay people be automatically treated as a hate crime.
With respect, Kathy, if violence against gay people is committed solely because they are gay, then the violence >is< a hate crime, and should be prosecuted as such.
hot501s Kathy’s comment and yours are the same basically. If the crime was committed with a bias towards his sexuality, then it’s a HATE CRIME, if not, it’s not. I believe the first thought should be it is and be proven it’s not by the evidence.
It was overkill. This wasn’t just murder. If anything, it’s more like what you’d expect from a drug cartel. More than one gay-bashing has ended in murder, but this is way above and beyond.