Gay activists expressed disappointment that the suspect wasn’t immediately charged with a hate crime, saying authorities in Puerto Rico have never invoked a law covering crimes based on sexual orientation.

The dismembered body of 19-year-old college student Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado was discovered Friday along a road in the interior town of Cayey. Lopez was widely known as a volunteer for organizations advocating HIV prevention and gay rights, and activists are planning remembrance vigils for him in cities including San Juan, New York and Chicago.

The suspect, 26-year-old Juan Martinez Matos, was arrested earlier this week and allegedly confessed to killing Lopez and mutilating his body. He was charged with first-degree murder and weapons violations and jailed on $4 million bond.

It could not be immediately determined if Martinez was represented by an attorney.

Martinez met Lopez while looking for women Thursday night in an area known for prostitution, according to prosecutor Jose Bermudez Santos. Bermudez said the suspect confessed to stabbing Lopez, who was dressed as a woman, after discovering he was a man.

“He has a deep-seated rage,” Bermudez said in remarks reported by the newspaper El Nuevo Dia.

“All the information we have is very clear that this is indeed a hate crime,” said Pedro Julio Serrano, a Puerto Rico native who is a spokesman for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

A 2002 hate crime law in this U.S. territory has not been applied to any cases involving sexual orientation or gender identity despite calls to use it more aggressively, Serrano said. A suspect convicted of a hate crime offense as part of another crime automatically faces the maximum penalty for the underlying crime. For murder, that would be life in prison.

Serrano said he has identified at least 10 slayings on the island over the last seven years that should have been investigated as hate crimes, including some in which the victims were sex workers.

Two U.S. Congress members from New York, who are of Puerto Rican origin, have suggested prosecuting the case under new federal hate crimes legislation that extended coverage to sexual orientation. President Barack Obama signed it last month.

The FBI is monitoring the investigation, and Lymarie Llovet Ayala, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in San Juan, said Wednesday that federal prosecutors are considering whether to take on the case.

Puerto Rico has some history of violence against gays. In the 1980s, the island was terrorized by serial killer Angel Colon Maldonado, known as “The Angel of the Bachelors,” who was linked to the murders of 27 homosexual people and is serving life in prison.

But the island also is known as a welcoming place for gays, particularly in comparison with more socially conservative Caribbean islands where homosexuals often live in hiding.

“The people of Puerto Rico are very inclusive and accepting of differences,” said Serrano. “I think these kinds of crimes show the ugly side of homophobia, but it’s a minority of people that are willing to be so violent in expressing their prejudice,”

Serrano said a protest against homophobia was planned for Thursday outside Puerto Rico’s Capitol.

The Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevodia reports that the suspect in the killing of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado is Juan antonio Martinez Matos, 26 years old and father of four. (This is a translation from a colleague; the link is www.elnuevodia.com/confiesaasesinatodejovenhomosexual-638687.html and we’d appreciate corrections!)

Martinez Matos was “looking for women” in a red light district last Friday. He had already been turned down several times, but Lopez Mercado, wearing a blue dress and boots, agreed to get in his car.

District Attorney Jose J. Bermudez says that in his confession, Martinez Matos said that he thought Lopez Mercado was a woman. The victim asked him for money and when he refused, Lopez Mercado pulled out a knife.  When Martinez Matos realized that the teenager was actually male, he had a flashback to when he was raped in prison while he was serving a sentence for domestic violence. He then attacked Lopez Mercado, separating his arms from his torso.

Police found a wig, a knife, a burned mattress, a burned PVC pipe and blood on the wall where the murder took place.

The forensic evidence is being investigated by the FBI. Though they have not specified charges yet, the DA says that he is sure this qualifies as a hate crime.

Activists are calling for justice and for the media to focus on the suspect’s acts instead of the behavior of the victim.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force released a statement saying: 

“We urge local law enforcement authorities to continue their expedient work on this case. Fortunately, Puerto Rico has a local hate crimes statute, but it is imperative that federal authorities continue to monitor this ongoing investigation and step in if necessary or assist if asked, as allowed by the new federal hate crimes law.”

Pedro Julio Serrano, Task Force Communications Manager and founder of Puerto Rico Para Todas said in a statement:

“This is a terrible, terrible crime. While we are pleased that law enforcement has acted promptly in making an arrest, it is vital that the hate crimes angle be investigated. This horrendous killing of a young gay man shows no compassion or respect for the dignity of a human life. As someone who grew up in Puerto Rico and has been very active in its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, this is a heart-wrenching moment. Our hearts and sympathies go out to all of Jorge Steven López’s loved ones at this difficult time. Justice must prevail.”

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365gay has new information on the murder investigation surrounding the decapitation and dismemberment of Puerto Rican teen Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado.

Juan Costa Rivera, a 365gay reader who knows Lopez Mercado’s friends, says that the local PR press is reporting that the suspect’s house was radied by police, where they found a burned mattress and pvc pope, a wig, two knives and a “big blood stain on a wall.”  The suspect confessed to police, saying he was looking for prostitutes in a red light district in Caguas. Basically, Rivera says:

“After being rejected by a few women, he saw Jorge dressed as a woman and asked him to go with him to the house. Apparently on the house, the suspect found out that Lopez was a man, after Lopez made sexual advantages, and as a result of the rage, he did what he did.”

Rivera says the police told media outlets that the suspect will likely use a “homosexual panic” defense, arguing for a plea of temporary insanity.

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.

Nineteen-year-old, Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado’s body was found burned, decapitated and dismembered on Nov. 14 in Cayey, a city only a few miles away from his hometown in Caguas.

According to an iReport by Christopher Pagan, “He was a very well known person in the gay community of Puerto Rico, and very loved.”

Pagan said, “Never in the history of Puerto Rico has a murder been classified as a hate crime. Even though we have to follow federal mandates and laws, many of the laws in which are passed in the USA such as Obama’s new bill, do not always directly get practiced in Puerto Rico.”

Pagan also noted the public remarks from a police investigator for the case that ‘people who lead this type of lifestyle need to be aware that this will happen’.

Towleroad translated gay activist Pedro Julio Serrano’s response:

“It is inconceivable that the investigating officer suggests that the victim deserved his fate, like a woman deserves rape for wearing a short skirt. We demand condemnation of this investigator and demand that Superintendent Figueroa Sancha replace him with someone capable of investigating this case without prejudice.”

According to Pagan, the story has only made local headlines and deserves international coverage.

Attorneys for Robert Van Hook had argued that the lawyers who represented him during the sentencing phase of his trial failed to do an effective job.

In its ruling Monday, the high court reversed a ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

Van Hook killed David Self in Self’s apartment in Cincinnati before robbing him and fleeing to Florida, where he was arrested and later confessed.

Van Hook’s lawyer, Keith Yeazel, says another appeal issue is pending before the 6th Circuit.

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray says the death sentence is appropriate due to the “horrific nature” of the crime.

This is the second attack on a gay Georgetown student to occur off campus in the past week.  The first attack occurred last Tuesday, when “a female student walking near campus was assaulted by two men in their late 20s, who shouted antigay slurs and pushed her to the ground before striking her with her book bag.”

“Both cases were referred to D.C. police because the incidents occurred off campus…Neither victim has filed a report with police, but officers are working with gay groups on campus in hopes of encouraging them to do so,” The Washington Post reports.

A vigil was held on-campus the night following Sunday’s assault.

Campus officials have sent a letter out to campus members addressing both attacks.

Patrick was walking to a friend’s house around midnight when he was followed by two women and a man who he says were yelling homophobic threats.

Patrick ignored the group until they got closer. When he asked them why they were shouting at him, according to Tulsa World:

They started “beating, biting and slashing at Patrick with a blade, leaving him with several cuts on his head and body.

“I’ve never felt scared or feared for my safety before,” he said. “You brush it off and walk on. That’s what you’re taught to do.

“This time, it didn’t work.”

Patrick described them as a woman in her early 40s and another woman and man, both in their late teens or early 20s.

Oklahoma’s hate-crimes law makes it a crime to “intimidate or harass another person because of the person’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin or disability.”

Jenkins noted that the state law excludes sexual orientation from the qualifiers for a hate crime. As a result, police are investigating the case only as an assault and battery.

 

Read the story at Tulsa World.

I understand the dilemma if someone you know is accused of a heinous crime. This person you love is described as a monster by the media, so the impulse to protect is natural. However, there are times when silence is best.

Suspect Daniel Rodriguez needs supporters who are a bit more media savvy. Mmmmm Okay. That’s too kind. Rodriguez friends should know that every time they open their mouthS they make him look guilty. This past weekend there was a rally for Jack Price, the victim of a hate crime attack in College Park, Queens. The rally was met by a few counter-protesters. One of them is infamous for being interviewed by a local news program and showing off his Leviticus tattoo. There is nothing in your coffee.  You read right baby. A Leviticus tattoo.

Rodriquez’s colleagues insist it was no hate crime and want him freed. They also toss out that old chestnut that Price made sexual advances to his alleged attackers. They never answer if that is the tale why was Price’s jaw fractured when a “no thanks” would have been sufficient.

Price says he walked past his attackers, they taunted him in Spanish (he speaks the language), he went to a bodega for some cigarettes, and when he walked out they continued their name calling until they hit him.

Of course Rodriguez’s friends have nothing to say about that. Maybe they should pay attention to the suspect’s dad.

by Lisa Neff

The security camera didn’t provide much security for Jack Price, beaten by two men on a Queens, N.Y., street early Oct. 9.

But the security camera captured the crime — for three minutes two men punched and kicked Price, 49, who was on the ground for most of the assault.

And the video — first made public by WABC, a Queens ABC affiliate — may help authorities put two men in jail for assault, aggravated assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment.

Jack Price is gay. And apparently his assailants knew that.

They encountered Price outside a neighborhood grocery, shouted anti-gay slurs at him.

The taunts picked up again as Price left the grocery to make his way to his nearby home.

Then the beating began.

Watch the tape, see the hate.

Two men chase another in the street on the blue-tinted tape. The assailants push and punch the third man to the ground. The victim tries to stand, but is held down by his attackers, who continue to punch and kick him as they hold him on the pavement.

The victim roles toward the curb, trying to protect himself, but the blows continue against his head, his stomach, his back.

With the victim lying on the ground, the two assailants appear to shout, pointing their fingers at Price’s head, then unleash more blows.

The attackers turn away, but then turn back to take something from the victim’s pockets. Robbery was not a motive

A car drives past, just a few away from the two men standing over the victim, but never slows.

More blows.

Then the attackers leave, talking with another, and the victim rises from the ground and stumbles away, out of the camera’s range.

Price suffered a broken jaw, a lacerated spleen, fractured ribs and collapsed lungs.

When the public learned of the assault, he had been placed into a medically induced coma and was breathing with the aid of a respirator at New York Hospital Queens.

On Oct. 12 — 11 years to the day after gay college student Matthew Shepard died, the victim of two men who tricked him away from a bar and savagely beat him on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyo. — New York City officials gathered to denounce the attack on Price, the LGBT community and the good people of Queens.

“I know the Queens community is outraged that hate has tainted their streets,” said New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn.

“This is the fourth time in 19 years that a gay man in Queens lies near death, or actually died, because he was beaten for being gay,” said Queens resident Daniel Dromm.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly called the assault “despicable” and vowed that the city would not tolerate the intolerance.

This week, the U.S. Senate is expected to take up a vote on a defense bill — reconciled through conference with the House — that includes, as an amendment, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Act.

In anticipation of the Senate vote, I received press releases and action alerts from groups and lawmakers on both sides of the hate crimes issue.

Opponents and proponents of the hate crimes provision referred to the assault on Price as reason to vote up or down on the bill.

The opponents’ argument: Two men were arrested and face criminal charges. The system already works.

The proponents’ argument: Two men — Daniel Aleman and Daniel Rodriguez — were arrested and may face hate crimes charges in New York. But New York is one of only 31 states with a hate crimes law that includes sexual orientation and one of only 12 states with a hate crimes law that includes gender identity.

The proponents’ argument, which readers here probably know is the one I accept, continues: Passage of the hate crimes measure would help local authorities secure federal assistance to investigate and prosecute an anti-gay crime.

And add to the argument: Passage of the hate crimes measure would authorize the U.S. Justice Department to intervene in a bias-motivated case where local authorities refuse to act.

It is worth noting that Virginia is the home state of one of the two suspects in the Price assault.

It is worth nothing that Virginia law does not address hate crimes based on sexual orientation, nor does Virginia law does not address hate crimes based on gender identity.

Virginia is where, in April 2000, a teenager, motivated by anti-gay bias, beat another teenager with a metal pipe. Virginia is where, in a gay bar in September 2000, a gay man was killed and six others were shot. Virginia is where, in September 2002, a university student was assaulted on his way to an LGBT group meeting. Virginia is where, in May 2005, a teenager was beaten at a party because of his sexual orientation. Virginia is where, in July 2005, a church was the target of an arson attack after its national body adopted a pro-gay marriage resolution.

Virginia is where, in October 2009, we know federal hate crimes law must be expanded.

And I hope, 11 years after the Shepard murder, we know nationwide we must expand the law.

Sorry to be reporting this so late, but if you are in NYC today there is a rally for Jack Price. He was attacked last week as he was walking to his local bodega. Two suspects have been arrested. The rally starts at 2 pm in College Park in Queens. If you go, please send us photos to put up. More later.