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Surveillance Video Shows Savage Hate Crime Beating, Second Suspect Arrested
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 14, 2009
Modified Oct 14, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 14, 2009
Modified Oct 14, 2009
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A merchants' association in College Point, Queens recently installed a number of security cameras in the neighborhood to deter graffiti. Early Friday morning, one of those cameras captured in vivid detail the shocking assault on openly gay local Jack Price, 49, who was leaving a 24-hour deli. The attack left him in a medically induced coma with collapsed lungs, broken ribs, damaged spleen, and a metal plate in his jaw. This video shows how it happened, but be warned: It is extremely disturbing.
Price's family tells WABC he is now awake and alert, but he's still on a respirator. Last night the NYPD, U.S. marshals, and Norfolk police arrested the second suspect, Daniel Rodriguez, at a relatives home in Virginia. Charges are pending and the NYPD is in the process of returning him to New York. The other suspect, Daniel Aleman, 26, was arrested Sunday; he was arraigned yesterday on a charge of second-degree assault as a hate crime and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Queens DA Richard Brown told reporters yesterday, "As Americans, each of us is free to choose where and how we want to live our lives. An illustrative example of that freedom is clearly Queens County, the most culturally diverse county in the nation. Crimes of hate will never be tolerated here. When they do, regrettably, occur, they will be condemned in the strongest possible terms and those responsible will be brought to justice to answer for their actions."
And in a statement, Mayor Bloomberg said, "There can never be true justice for Jack Price, the victim of a vicious anti-gay attack early Thursday morning near his home in College Point. Thankfully though, both suspects in the case have now been apprehended. Hate crimes like this one are particularly distasteful and won't be tolerated in our city."
Tagged
beating
college point
hate crime
jack price
nyc
queens
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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