Four arrests in two gay hate crimes
Two men, thought to be the Bassi brothers, flee from violent attack on June 12.
VANCOUVER – Police are probing the violent beating of a man in the West End on Thursday as a possible hate crime.
“A 30-year-old Vancouver man is recovering from facial injuries after he was violently attacked near Davie and Burrard on the morning of July 1st,” said VPD spokeswoman Const. Jana McGuinness.
The incident occurred as police announced charges against two brothers involved in a possible hate crime – the June 12th assaults on David Holtzman and Peter Regier.
“Two men in their early 20s are in custody facing charges of aggravated assault for their role in the attack and police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime,” said McGuinness about the latest gay bashing.
“Around 2:45 a.m., the victim and friends were walking along Davie Street when they passed by a group of men and women on the sidewalk. Suddenly, one of the men from the group turned and verbally confronted the victim. Words were exchanged and without warning, the victim was allegedly punched in the face by his attacker, knocking him to the ground,” police said about the violent attack.
“As he lay on the ground the blows continued and a second man allegedly joined in, repeatedly punching the victim. Disturbing comments were also allegedly made regarding the victims’ sexual orientation. The two attackers then fled on foot but were arrested moments later in the 1100-block of Davie Street by a VPD patrol unit.
“The victim suffered facial injuries requiring medical attention at the scene,” said a statement.
Charged with assault causing bodily harm are 21-year old Alexandre Tchernychev and 21-year-old Aaron Alexander Hahn, both from Vancouver. Neither man has any previous criminal convictions.
Meanwhile, two brothers have been charged in connection with the violent assaults on David Holtzman and Peter Regier on June 12th.
Parminder ‘Pete’r Bassi, 30, is charged with two counts of assault causing bodily harm and 27 -year-old Ravinder Robbie Bassi is charged with one count of assault causing bodily harm.
“The arrests came after an intensive two-week investigation by members of the VPD Robbery/Assault Squad. Detective Constables Shane Aitken and Mike Kim followed up on multiple tips that came in to Vancouver Police after the release of surveillance photographs through the media on June 18th.”
The two were arrested on the morning of June 30th at their home in Richmond without incident. They have since been released from jail and must abide by a number of court imposed conditions.
The Bassi brothers will appear in Downtown Community Court on July 5th at 9:00 a.m.
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Posted by News Editor
on Jul 2 2010. Filed under EDITOR'S CHOICE, Featured, Top Stories.
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