The manager of a tattoo parlor in Jackson Heights, New York who screamed homophobic slurs at a gay couple before getting into a physical altercation with the men will not be charged with a hate crime, the DA’s office says.
26-year-old Mohammed Hoque was caught on camera going off on husbands Jeremy Valarezo and Joseph Sokolowski after they refused to have their IDs scanned while trying to purchase a pipe from Village Moon Tattoo Shop.
The incident happened last November.
In a cell phone video shot by Sokolowski, Hoque can be seen arguing with the couple, shouting “Get your bullsh*t, f*ggot *ss, outta here!” before saying he was keeping their money without giving them the product they had just paid for.
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WATCH: Village Moon tattoo parlor manager calls local residents, a married gay couple, "faggots" then punches one of them. We will not let this stand! Queens must remain a safe place for LGBTQ+ people.
Anti-hate rally tomorrow, 10am. pic.twitter.com/be9ejHPn3u
— Daniel Dromm (@Dromm25) January 21, 2019
According to Valarezo and Sokolowski, after shouting the antigay slurs at them, Hoque punched Valarezo in the face then chased Sokolowski out of the store, where he punched him as well.
But Hoque tells a slightly different story. He admits he attacked Sokolowski, but says he only did so after Sokolowski spit in his face and knocked down a store display.
Police were called and both Sokolowski and Hoque were arrested. Hoque was charged with two counts of assault. Meanwhile, Sokolowski was slapped with a criminal mischief charge.
Last week, Hoque pleaded guilty to assault in the third degree and harassment in the second degree. But many are wondering why his transgressions weren’t classified as a hate crime.
“The case was thoroughly investigated by the Hate Crimes Task Force,” said a spokesperson for the DA’s office said.
“Our office consulted at length with the attorneys for both sides, as there were cross criminal complaints in regards to the incident. All defendants agreed with the disposition of the case, which included anger management and sensitivity training.”
But not everyone is satisfied with this resolution.
Council Member Daniel Dromm, who recently held an anti-hate rally outside the Village Moon Tattoo Shop, believes the assault should be treated as a hate crime.
“The use of the f*ggot word will no longer be tolerated or no longer be let go without some type of a community response,” Dromm says. “This is not acceptable in our community.”
Sokolowski is scheduled to appear in court on April 19 where his charges will likely be dismissed, a spokesperson for the DA’s office says.
Related: Homophobe who assaulted gay man on video whines about being too poor to get to court
Jared MacBride
If the parties involved agreed to the resolution of the case who is anyone else to complain. This is how the criminal law system often works. Seems like there may have been bad behavior all the way around.
Vince
I don’t know if I’d call this a hate crime. Yeah, he called him a fa*got and punched him but the fight started kind on both sides. I agree with the guy though. He defintely is an ass*ole.
Brian
Definitely not a hate crime.
smartguyd
A hate crime charge usually requires the prosecutor prove the defendant’s actions were motivated by their real or perceived prejudice against a protected class. So we know the guys a homophobe because he used the f word in a derogatory way but its very difficult to prove it motivated the crime. That requires proving he thought or knew they were gay and to prove motivation which requires a lot of in depth investigating to find prior admissible evidence of the defendants bigotry such as a history of violence against other gay people.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
If they had called him a vile, noxious, piece of garbage homophobic Nuslm smcubag pretty darn sure they would be facing hate charges….
AlexEf
What’s that ID scanning thing? Why does one need to do it?
Doug
If the customer spit on him, they’re both assholes.
JessPH
Did he hit them for being gay? No. Then it’s not a hate crime. Period.
draven
Again gay people do not do these people your money do not frequent homophobic gay unfriendly business establishments especially in the United States of America stay away from these folks they are messy and they do not care about us they are jealous because most these people are very unhappy with them selves do not give these people your money find your own safe places in your own safe way it’s not worth your safety