Two Centennial High School students have been charged as adults with felony crimes, and four others face juvenile charges for allegedly attacking a fellow student because he is gay.
Anthony Hergesheimer, 15, told police six schoolmates peppered him with disparaging remarks about his openly gay lifestyle before hurling an aerosol can that struck him in the nose as he walked home from school on April 5. Hergesheimer underwent surgery for a broken nose.
Arrest warrants have been issued for two juveniles who have been charged as adults. Kyle Salazar, 16, and Bobby Ray Kanmore, 17, face felony charges of second-degree assault and committing a bias-motivated crime, according to District Attorney Bill Thiebaut.
Four other Centennial students who allegedly had a role in the incident face unspecified juvenile charges.
“In this case, I charged two defendants as adults because they were 14 years of age or older and are alleged to have committed a crime of violence,” Thiebaut said. “It's a very significant, disturbing case. I wanted to send the message to this community that this type of behavior won't be tolerated.”
This is not the first alleged hate crime prosecuted by Thiebaut's office. During the past two years, prosecutors have invoked Colorado's bias-crime statute in the racially motivated stabbing of a black man and the alleged assault of a jail inmate, purportedly because he was gay.
The stabbing resulted in a 40-year prison term. The case of the alleged jail assault is still pending in district court.
A spokesman for Pueblo City Schools said the students implicated in the attack on Hergesheimer have been suspended and could face expulsion.(Source)
Anthony Hergesheimer, 15, told police six schoolmates peppered him with disparaging remarks about his openly gay lifestyle before hurling an aerosol can that struck him in the nose as he walked home from school on April 5. Hergesheimer underwent surgery for a broken nose.
Arrest warrants have been issued for two juveniles who have been charged as adults. Kyle Salazar, 16, and Bobby Ray Kanmore, 17, face felony charges of second-degree assault and committing a bias-motivated crime, according to District Attorney Bill Thiebaut.
Four other Centennial students who allegedly had a role in the incident face unspecified juvenile charges.
“In this case, I charged two defendants as adults because they were 14 years of age or older and are alleged to have committed a crime of violence,” Thiebaut said. “It's a very significant, disturbing case. I wanted to send the message to this community that this type of behavior won't be tolerated.”
This is not the first alleged hate crime prosecuted by Thiebaut's office. During the past two years, prosecutors have invoked Colorado's bias-crime statute in the racially motivated stabbing of a black man and the alleged assault of a jail inmate, purportedly because he was gay.
The stabbing resulted in a 40-year prison term. The case of the alleged jail assault is still pending in district court.
A spokesman for Pueblo City Schools said the students implicated in the attack on Hergesheimer have been suspended and could face expulsion.(Source)
Gay Pueblo teen victim of alleged hate crime - WATCH VIDEO
1 comment:
I love that we only see one side of this story. Peppered in among some gay porn. This story has absolutely nothing to do with this boy being gay. I'm from Pueblo and the local gay community is angry that is "Victim" is turning this into a gay issue. This was a simple case of a teenager running his mouth and getting his nose broken for his efforts. He decided to retaliate by calling it a hate crime. This sort of thing only makes people hate gays even more. This situation is going to ruin the lives of those boys and all because of one little liar. The gay community should come out AGAINST this kind of thing. Not in support of it. We need level-headed tolerance on BOTH sides of the issue, not a reactionary witch-hunt.
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