8 Men Arrested for Anti-Gay Hate Crime Spree and Torture

In New York 8 men were arrested for Anti-Gay hate crimes committed on 4 men last Sunday. The suspects, all members of a street gang they called the Latin King Goonies. The assaults, all committed in one day involved sodomy beating and torture. 

A 17 year old pledge to the gang was the first person attacked about 3:30 last Sunday morning. The young man was forced into a empty apartment and interrogated by his tormentors about his relation with a 30 year old male accusing him of being gay. After being forced to strip off his clothes, the attackers hit him in the head with a full beer can, cut him and then sodomized him with a wooden plunger handle. Eventually the young man was set free but they warned him not to talk about the incident or they would hurt him or his family. The victim went to a hospital for treatment but would only say he was attacked by a stranger on the street for fear of retaliation. 

According to CNN, the next thing occurred about 8:30 that night. The same assailants brought another 17 year old male to the same apartment and beat him while asking questions about the same 30-year-old man. This victim was held there against his will while the 30 year old man in question was brought to the apartment about an hour later. The 30 year old was then beaten and stripped naked before being tied into a chair opposite the second victim. The 17 year old was then forced to hit the man in the chair and burn him with cigarettes. Later the assailants sodomized the 30 year old with a small baseball bat and beat him with a chain. After being beaten and sodomized the 30 year old was later dumped outside his home. 

Later that night, five of the suspects went to the apartment of the first victim and extorted money from his brother by threatening more harm. They beat the brother before leaving. When authorities went back to the vacant apartment it appeared the assailants had cleaned up the place with bleach to erase evidence. 

To apprehend the suspects it took a combined effort from NYPD, the Hate Crimes Task Force, Bronx Gang Division and Bronx Special Victims Unit. One suspect, Ruddy Vargas-Perez. is still at large. Joe Solmonese, president of a national gay rights group (Human Rights Campaign commented "Unfortunately, these crimes come on the heels of several other recently reported hate crimes in New York City." 

The suspects are listed as Bryan Almonte, 17, Steven Caraballo, 17, Brian Cepeda, 16, Nelson Falu, 17, Ildefonzo Mendez, 23, Denis Peitars, 17 and David Rivera, 21 and Elmer Confresi, 23. All of them are being tried as adults with anti-gay hate crimes.

UPDATE: Suspect Bryan Almonte was taken to the hospital allegedly suffering diabetic problems while being arrested.