Let The Trial Begin
By Keith Boykin, in sexuality
Friday, September 7 2007, 12:27PM
The men accused of murdering Michael Sandy put on the charm offensive yesterday in court. "The defendants presented a demeanor of humble remorse," said the New York Times. "They wore ill-fitting suits and mouthed I-love-you’s to relatives in the gallery." One of the defendants loudly thanked a court officer for removing his handcuffs while another politely responded, “Yes, ma’am,” to the judge.
But the defendants allegedly sang a different tune immediately after the murder of Michael Sandy in October 2006. After the killing, the suspects gathered in an apartment and read newspaper accounts of the attack, according to the youngest defendant, 17-year-old Gary Timmins, who has pleaded guilty to attempted robbery as a hate crime and agreed to testify against the others. According to Timmins, the oldest defendant even joked about the murder with his cohorts.
Michael Sandy was lured to a parking lot in Sheepshead Bay last fall, chased into traffic on the Belt Parkway and struck by a car, according to the Times. He was removed from a respirator and died on October 13, five days after the attack and one day after his 29th birthday, the paper reported.
The defendants, Anthony Fortunato, Ilya Shurov and John Fox, have been charged with murder under the New York state hate crime laws because they targeted Sandy because he was gay and they believed he would offer little resistance.
Apparently this was not the first time they had tried these tricks. Fortunato reportedly bragged to Timmins of robbing gay men in the past, and told him a story of luring one man to a Comfort Inn, telling him to undress in the bathroom and then stealing his money and belongings, the paper reported.
The prosecutor plans to call about 16 witnesses, including police officers and medical examiners, and plans to play recordings of two calls to 911 emergency operators in which Sandy can be heard trying to talk after he had been struck by a car.
Over the next few weeks and months, we can expect to hear a lot more of the gruesome details of the Michael Sandy murder. This was a brutal killing that didn't have to happen, and those who were responsible should pay for their crime. I believe strongly in redemption and forgiveness, but redemption requires the guilty to accept responsibility for their actions. Except for one, the men who killed Michael Sandy have yet to acknowledge any true sense of responsibility or remorse for what they did.
The people in the community and throughout the country will be watching this case closely so that justice will be done and a message will be sent.
Comments conceal
Solo
September 7 2007, 1:24PM
Let's hope these "people" get the maximum penalty under the law. This was a ghastly murder of a promising young gay brother!
Billy
September 7 2007, 2:03PM
Thank you for keeping us posted. I am praying for justice to be done and that this sends a "message" out to America that all lives are valued. No matter what the gender, sexual orientation or race may be.
Blue
September 7 2007, 2:08PM
I hope they are brought to justice .... of all of the bashing's I've read about in my lifetime, this one shook me to the core. I'm not even sure why.
ToddyEnglish
September 7 2007, 2:21PM
I hope those wretched scumbags get the death penalty. Rest in Peace Mr. Sandy. And thank you Keith Boykin for keeping us abreast of this case, as the media apparently has no vested interest in gay black men.
Kyon Saucier
September 7 2007, 2:42PM
It was a horrific tragedy and I too hope those men get justice but it also gives a lesson that all of us should heed. Be very careful of hooking up with guys for sex online. Use common sense people. People online can be liars, cheats, or just plain psychopaths. I guess the point is one never knows what's behind that handsome photo on the net that ur typing madly away too. While ur planning a romp they could be planning something else... Sadly Sandy is not the first person to loose his life because he was duped by evil people posing as someone they were not on the net and unfortunately I'm not sure he will be the last.
Black Woman
September 7 2007, 3:52PM
This is just too sad on soo many levels. I recently met a guy online. We chatted briefly and then decided to meet quickly. Guess where I demanded to meet him? At a police station. That's right. I told him he could meet me briefly at a police station. He agreed and we met there for our first "date".
Now, when you're looking for quick hook-ups the rules of engagement are different but as always, you should take precautions. Nothing wrong with gettin' your freak on. Most of us have taken worse chances then what was described above. We just got lucky.
I really do blame our community for this. Black churches rail against homosexuality. Black parents get angry about it or act like it doesn't exist. But I do think more black gays need to come out in our communities and churches. Silence is death, people.
ramsueno
September 7 2007, 4:35PM
I think what chills me is how easily it can be anyone on the other side of the electronic ocean, like sailors at sea hearing the siren songs of mermaids, only to crash upon the rocks in the darkness...
And we sailors of love are all to eager sometimes to make that journey as the light flickers on our screen and the immediacy of the "no-strings-booty" fogs our judgement and what we see is what we want to see...caught between the scylla and the current...
How do we save ourselves? We run the checklist: Did I save the email trails, ask for a number or a picture and sent it to a friend? As soon as I approached the designated meeting place, can I snap a photo of where I am or even the date and send it to myself and someone I trust? Am I caught up in the moment, "following" my dick- compass in a direction the mind knows isn't the true course?
The most chilling thing is I have been out at sea, alone, listening to that sweet song of sex...I was lucky to return home...cold echoes in the darkness behind me...
DJ Black Adam
September 7 2007, 5:39PM
Gay, Black, it doesn't matter, these guys murdered a human being, they should be dealt with accordingly.
It was a hate crime because they targeted the man because he was gay.
David
September 7 2007, 7:37PM
What are the penalties for hate crimes in NY? And, I wonder what the ethnic makeup of the jury? These could both be factors in a verdict.
And for all my brothers, please be careful with trade, there are way too many kooks and nuts out here who want to harm you.
And, I'm sorry, this is not a black communtiy issue of antigay, since none of the alleged killers are black. This always blaming the black communuity for being a victim is as bad as blaming white folks. We all walk out own path in life, and I for one refuse to let anyone bash me for being gay, black, white or anything else. And, for crying out loud, black gays and lesbians can't organize for anything other than a party or ball when the battle facing us is with black and white straights and white gays.
Peace.
brucito
September 7 2007, 10:43PM
Meeting someone online and then making a date to hook up means that a person is horny or very lonely for companionship. In the 70's and 80's there used to be very nice places throughout the country where people used to meet, have sex, shower afterwards and exchange phone nbr's and form lasting friendships. They were called bathhouses. Aids made the bathhouses practically obsolete but it was sure as hell a lot safer than meeting someone online and wondering if you were going to live thru the first meeting. Or better yet if it really was them in the photo that they sent you. I honestly feel sorry for this kid. No one deserved to die like that. It is important that you girls who claim to know Star Jones remind her how important this case is to us and how many of you out there spread word about her show.
Troy
September 7 2007, 11:42PM
Not one single word or sentence, in jail or out will take away the blood of this young black man's life, ever, from ALL of our hands.
Michael Sandy now becomes much more prominent in the minds and hearts of the so called righteous each & every time someone hears his name; our greatest fear is that we are not next...What is the proper amount of justice to give for a life taken before it ever had a chance to be. What are the words for another yet to be victim. Someone who looks alot like you, or me...
James Synegal
September 8 2007, 1:19AM
This is absolutely fucking outrageous, this shit must stop and I mean fast. I do not mean to play the race card here, but if this were a trial of three black suspects who murdered a white man, all hell would have broken loose by now, yes even in "liberal" New York. This is outrageous. We as a people,not just gay people, but any minority must begin to demand justice, if we do not raise hell then we will continue to be ignored. People we must demand that our city leaders as well as our elected government officials take responsibility in preventing these types of hate crimes as well as the proper prosecution of those we know beyond a resonable doubt are guilty. These bastards must not get away. I will be following this trial closely and pray that these assholes get what they have coming.
Antwan
September 8 2007, 11:42AM
If this young man had been a white gay man from Chelsea and was murdered by a group of 3 young black men, the gay "rights" leaders and organizations would be over it like white on rice demanding justice. But, since he was black, its as if no one cars, just another case of the life of a young black man being zilch and being gay looking for sex makes it even less to many. That courtroom should be filled with black gays day in and day out to make sure justice is served, because the young men are going to do one thing, play that race card, and will get away with it, even in "liberal" New York.
And, I agree with the posters about this online dating, be careful, very careful, and have the common sense to meet in a public place that is not a park, alley or car for crying out loud.
brucito
September 8 2007, 1:45PM
Since it is obvious that todays young black gay men must find dates and sex via of the computer then why not hook up via webcam. If the person does not have one then tell them good bye for now and contact you when they do. That way you are looking at one another and you now know what each other look like and whether you want to go on any further. I personally think this is the wrong way to go as far as dating goes but if the person balks in anyway that should show you what you are dealing with. At the bathhouse if you were not interested you simply closed your door. But with this internet dating shit if one does not have 6 pack abs, 16 inch arms, 32 inch waist and must look and act like they've just been released from prison they are shit out of luck and must resort to sending in fake pictures. I wonder how many tales there are out there waiting to be told from the folks who visit www.nudeafrica.com LOL
elg
September 8 2007, 3:14PM
Some of you here give the impression you think these murders of gay men started with internet hook ups. They did not. Over the years (since the seventies when I came out), I have known and/or heard of many gay men who were murdered by someone they picked up in a bar or off the streets somewhere.
I've picked up men in bars, off the streets, had anonymous sex with men in public bathrooms and parks (and I'm not recommending any of this) and other than being robbed of $5(!) at gun point once back in the seventies, nothing too bad has happened to me. Oh, sometimes I've had humiliating experiences (which comes occasionally with the particular road I've traveled) but I've been "lucky", except for that one time. Gay men (and straight women) who "date" (or hook-up, as the young folk say nowadays) have had to take certain risks in order to find that "loved one". Some of us take more chances than others.
Darryl
September 9 2007, 7:54PM
I hope those bastards get exactly what they deserve!! nuff said
Amanda
September 11 2007, 1:53AM
Keith I just want to thank you for your heartfelt and in depth coverage of Mike's murder. He was a friend of mine, and I miss him every single day. We all lose people in our lives, I always accepted that, but the way Mike left this Earth is what keeps me from being at peace with the idea that he's gone on to another realm. I knew once this trial started all the rage I felt inside the night my boss at Ikea called to tell me what had happened would come rushing back - and it has. I join you in my most sincere hopes and prayers that justice is served.
And I can't express in words how much it means to me that you have continued to provide coverage on this, long after the mainstream media stopped caring. I know it would have meant the world to Mike to see that so many people have opened their hearts and mourned for him.
...peace to all...
Amanda
C. Baptiste-Williams
September 12 2007, 1:41AM
Where is Jesse and Al now? Where is the media coverage? We can hear about some missing white English child all damn day... but nothing about racisim in America.
Will
September 18 2007, 12:17AM
"If this young man had been a white gay man from Chelsea and was murdered by a group of 3 young black men, the gay "rights" leaders and organizations would be over it like white on rice demanding justice."
OMG, this is SO TRUE. If Michael Sandy had been some cute white twink from Chelsea or the Village, the white gays would be foaming at the mouth and looking to lynch every black person in America. (Hell, just think back to the fucking fit they had over a black actor calling a white actor the "F" word on the set of a TV show.) The lack of interest in the so-called "gay community" over Mr. Sandy's murder only underscores an ugly but undeniable truth: white gays don't give a shit about gays of color and never, ever will.
Comment Preview