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October 15, 2005
Hate on the L.I.E.
A parking lot off of Route 110 was the site of hate crimes last Sunday
and Monday, where teenagers Victor Lopez and David Andrade allegedly
lured males from the Exit 49 rest area of the Long Island Expressway
with promises to engage in sexual activity.
According to Det/Sgt Robert Reecks of the Suffolk County Police Hate
Crimes Bureau, 18-year-old Lopez and 19-year-old Andrade led their
victims to secluded areas where they bound them with duct tape, held
them at gunpoint and demanded money.
Reecks said a 42-year-old homosexual man was the first victim to come
forward. This man said he was attacked on Sunday night but waited
until Monday to report the incident because his assailants threatened
to kill his family if he approached the police.
Reecks said the delay in reporting this crime forced him to play
“catch-up” with the investigation. “Without a doubt, as in any case,
the longer I don’t get it reported, the greater deterioration of
evidence I can gather,” he said, adding that the victim was also
scared to report the crime because he had not yet publicly declared
his sexual orientation.
This 42-year-old victim provided police with a description of the
suspect’s vehicle, and after they broadcast a notification to all
units, a Suffolk County Canine Unit observed the vehicle traveling
southbound on Route 110 in Farmingdale.
Lopez and Andrade, both Copiague residents, were arraigned at First
District Court in Central Islip on Tuesday. They are charged with
robbery as a hate crime in the first degree, as well as unlawful
imprisonment as a hate crime in the second degree.
“We take [hate crimes] very seriously out here,” Reecks said, adding
that Suffolk County reports approximately 22 percent of all hate
crimes in New York State. “It’s a huger percentage on one number,
because we only represent about 9 percent of New York State, however a
lot of police agencies don’t report hate crimes. So they’re either not
reporting them or not recognizing them as hate crimes.”
By Aliza Israel (@ Longislandernews)
See also : L.I.E. (2001)
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