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Alleged Dallas BBQ Chair-Thrower Turns Himself In
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 16, 2015
Modified Jun 16, 2015
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 16, 2015
Modified Jun 16, 2015
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The man who police say attacked two gay patrons with a chair at a Chelsea Dallas BBQ last month while calling them "white f-----s" has turned himself in. According to an NYPD release, Bayna-Lehkiem El-Amin, 41, was arrested today and charged with two counts of felony assault and two counts of attempted felony assault.
El-Amin, who is reportedly gay and has 18 previous arrests in numerous states for assault, credit-card fraud, possession of stolen property, and forgery, told the blog G List Society earlier this month that the men he assaulted, Jonathan Snipes and his boyfriend, Ethan York-Adams, actually started the fight.
El-Amin claims that Snipes and York-Adams were fighting, and that he shouted "Hey, guys! There are ladies here," to get them to stop. Instead, El-Amin alleges, Snipes struck him with a "heavy blunt object," and that he merely retaliated with a chair.
"He assaulted me," El-Amin told G List Society. "I was the victim."
"My only thought was to facilitate an exit that they would not follow behind us, because there was no one there to stop them from doing so—or pull a weapon out on us. There was a chair, that's closest thing to me. That's why I threw it. I didn’t look at as a way to mane [sic] him or use as a deadly force."
Yet the video shows Snipes and his boyfriend moving away from El-Amin before he strikes Snipes with a chair.
Snipes told DNAinfo that he and his boyfriend accidentally spilled a drink as they were leaving the restaurant, and that El-Amin and his companion called them "White f-----s, spilling drinks."
"I don't let anyone talk to me like that. I went over there and asked, 'What did you say about us?'" Snipes said.
While the NYPD's hate crimes task force investigated the assault, El-Amin, a Bronx resident, is not being charged with a bias crime.
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Bayna-Lehkiem El-Amin
Chelsea
dallas bbq assault
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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