NYC Police on Hunt for Freed Hate-Crime Suspect

New York City police and prosecutors are seeking a gay-bashing suspect who had been arrested but released because of insufficient evidence, the New York Post reports.

Brooklyn resident Ivan Pabellon, 35, was accused of beating David Jimenez, 40, last month while yelling antigay epithets. Jimenez, who was walking his dogs at the time, received a broken nose and black eyes in the assault.

Prosecutors in the borough, however, had problems identifying Pabellon as Jimenez's attacker, so he received only a misdemeanor charge for cocaine possession and was released on bail, a police source told the Post. Now police are looking for him so they can pursue further charges, including a hate-crime charge, the source said.

A spokeswoman for the Brooklyn district attorney's office added, "We are continuing to investigate ... and other charges against Pabellon are possible."