Brooklyn Man Convicted of Committing Hate Crime Against Sandy  | News | Advocate.com

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October 09, 2007
Brooklyn Man Convicted of Committing Hate Crime Against Sandy

A jury convicted a Brooklyn, N.Y., man of manslaughter and on hate-crimes charges Friday for an attack on a gay victim at a remote city beach that led to the victim's death.

John Fox was one of two young men on trial for their roles in the assault on Michael Sandy, who was ambushed and chased into traffic during a mugging a year ago. A car struck Sandy as he fled onto Brooklyn's Belt Parkway, fatally injuring him.

The jury acquitted Fox of a murder charge but found him guilty of second-degree manslaughter and attempted robbery. Jurors also found that the offense amounted to a hate crime, a distinction that will add time to Fox's sentence.

He faces between five and 25 years in prison on the manslaughter charge, Brooklyn prosecutors said.

A lawyer for Fox, John D. Patten, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on the verdict.

Fox, 20, was part of a group of young men accused of going into an Internet chat room frequented by gay men last October in order to find a potential robbery victim.

Prosecutors said the men lured Sandy, 28, out to the beach by offering him a date with Fox, who was posing as another gay man.

A second jury is separately considering murder, manslaughter, and hate-crimes charges against a second member of the group, Anthony Fortunato.

Fortunato's defense has included a claim that he is himself gay and had never intended for the episode to turn violent. He said the group initially planned only on conning Sandy out of money and marijuana.

The jury in Fortunato's case resumes deliberations Tuesday.

A third man accused of participating in the attack, Ilye Shurov, is to be tried separately. A fourth man, Gary Timmins, who was 16 at the time of the killing, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and testified for prosecutors. (AP)

© 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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