It’s not a hate crime! Monday, police arrested Milagro Ruiz, 21, and Gilbert R. Geigel, 20, and Kerrond Miller-Jones, 19, and Charles Diaz, 21, in connection with the vandalism of a youth van used by (and heavily-branded as coming from) The Long Island Gay and Lesbian Center, but authorities are saying that the crime was not motivated by bias, thought they haven’t come forward with how they know that just yet.
Newsday‘s John Valenti reports:
“Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy called the vandalism at a Bay Shore gay and lesbian center for youths an “attack against the gay community.”
It turns out the vandalism at the Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth Center was not a hate crime after all, police said Tuesday.
Police arrested three men and a woman, all from Bay Shore, Monday in connection with the vandalism and charged each of them with second-degree criminal mischief. None of the four was charged with a hate crime.
Police declined to say what led them to determine the crime was not bias-related.
The vandalism took place about a week ago at the center, at 34 Park Ave. Police said that they were called to the center on Monday, Feb. 2, after it was discovered that the front door to the center had been damaged — and tires had been slashed and windows were broken on the center’s 2003 Ford van.
That van had been parked on the property, police said.
“This type of attack against the gay community will not be tolerated in Suffolk County,” Levy said in the aftermath.”
alan brickman
were other vehicles in the area also trashed?? cause if not..then it is a hate crime…do the police in that area actually have to graduate from high school??….
CHIP
If those arrested were using the services of the center, it’s not a hate crime.
JJJJ
Two of those arrested were former members of the Center, who’d earlier been thrown out for disruptive behavior.
Paul
as a person who actually knows one of the people arrested, it seems that 2 of 4 were at one point youth who attended LIGALY.
CHIP
When I grew up on Long Island more than half the anti-semetic graffitti and damages to temples and menorahs during the holidays were done by Jewish teenagers. Call it the Tawanah Brawley syndrome – you need to cover up your tracks, make it look like it was a hate crime. I hope LIGALY will give the option to those who made donations to get them back. This is not damaged caused by a hate crime, this is something their insurance company and insurance adjuster should be determining how much it will cost to fix.
JJJJ
Chip : Sounds like the recent noose hanging at the Columbia U. professor’s office. Turned out she did it herself. It’s more common than people realize, and all law enforcement must go into these cases with open minds, remembering there’s a good chance that the “victims” are the culprits.
Guenivere
@Paul: as do i
i cant believe this happened as being a a friend to that one and im bi my self
LJ
Does it really matter that its not being pursued as a hate crime? Does it take back the fact that a gay center was attacked? No it doesn’t. Some people are such self-haters that its not too far fetched to believe this could still be a hate crime. Either way a crime was committed against a Center that helps our community. We should support it no matter what the charges are.
gwen
ridiculous. completely not a hate crime at all and demonstrates just how unethical this center is. anyone who donated should get their money back.
Guenivere
this isn’t the 1st time that LIGALY was trashed(want to see how many times cops went to LIGALY go ask central records) and they are milking it for pubilicty. the center is pointing at charles who spoke out against the center on numerous occasions because he had overbearing proof that illegal things were going on there in which local government officials never listened. staff/youth sexual relationships, fights in which weapons were involved, lack of supervision in the multipurpose room not to include a “gay gestapo” which brown noses the staff and does their dirty work from spying to beatdowns to attempted murder. Sex and drug usage in the bathrooms ever wondered why you never could use the bathroom on a friday night? youths were having sex and using drugs in them. LIGALY is using this incident to fool you all because they lost $100,000 in budget cuts and are using for a P.R. smear campaign/donation campagin. one of the alleged perps Gilbert happens to be straight and was never a client at all ever. he worked as a driver there and rumor has it he got tired of cleaning up drugs off the van floor,blood and drugs from the bathrooms and left. also being forced by taking youths to the hospital and leaving them there and forced to deny that he never drove the youths to the E.R. Also their std/HIV testing wasn’t confidential,at all the lady Brenda would tell every one your status and by the time club ligaly started every 1 knew your status (god forbid if you ever tested positive).
Talk about keeping your status confidential. last the 3 males were tortured and beaten to give a false confession to something they didnt do because the center targeted them for speaking out against the center to local government officials who fund them in which nothing is done.
Also David kilmnick is never in the building at all except for “special events” or to talk to the press.(also David got thrown out of ABC ch7 news studio because he and LIGALY was being investigated after ABC news was to interview him) talk about milking the system and getting paid for it? Finally is that the youths never see the funding used for the center. It mainly goes into Davids pocket. ever wondered why the center never had money? would you like to know more??
foxhound longisland
How they were caught is because Gilbert drives a similar car compared to some alleged bs tape they got which that model ranges from 1989-1994. second they were arrested monday night 2/9/09 arraigned on tuesday 2/10/09. the arresting officers were not the ones that were in the paper the officers names involved were snyder, mosby & gonzales.
the 3 male suspects were beaten, tortured forced to sign a confession under duress in a police station that killed some one a year ago. so dont believe what is in the papers. second Ligaly is using this as a way to recoup 100k they lost in budget cuts and have to foot the blame on innocent people(so blame people that you dont like and have spoken out against the center). as what Guenivere said. it is all true after talking with former attendees.
if you know something immoral/illegal thats going at at ligaly now is your chance to speak up without retaliation from the gay gestapo.
now is your chance to tell the local officials, the govenor(provided he can see whats going on) that it isn’t the safe haven it claims to be. This is beyond if you are gay or straight its the fact that ligaly has been doing this for a long time and it has to end. so if you want do the research yourself how many times has the cops been to 34 park ave bay shore. from 1/1/02-1/1/09. thats at 1 address, how many times at their east main street address? about 9 pages worth.
LJ
Hmmm…posts left on February 19th just after those who vandalized the center made bail. Do you think its a coincidence?? Its not. Its time to wake up that violence and hate do not win.
Fox Hound Long Island
well first of all LJ for some one who is brainwashed by the center you really need to wake up. its accusations innocent till proven guilty.
ligaly is known to accuse people especially those whom have spoken out against the center. you was not there I was not there so do not talk what you do not know. it hasn’t been the 1st time the toilet known as LIGALY has been attacked by former attendees.
Second alot of people have been traumatized by the things that go on at 34 park ave should we start naming incidents and staff members that were involved?
How is LIGALY going to explain to the officials that some of their volunteers & clients were convicted sex offenders when they dont do background checks. we need not say more but in due time the cat will be let out of the bag. You are right Lj hate and violence don’t win. However, it does not give an excuse to point a finger at people who didnt do anything in which ligaly is profiting from it. the youths will never see the money Think about it/ why the center never has money and expects the youths to pay for functions? the center is a haven for pedophiles and is a waste of government funds end of story.
Andrew Yu-Jen Wang
Speaking of hate crime(s):
George W. Bush is a hate-crime criminal.
George W. Bush did in fact commit innumerable hate crimes.
Bush will go down in history in infamy.
Submitted by Andrew Yu-Jen Wang
B.S., Summa Cum Laude, 1996
Messiah College, Grantham, PA
Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, PA, 1993
“GEORGE W. BUSH IS THE WORST PRESIDENT IN U.S. HISTORY” BLOG OF ANDREW YU-JEN WANG