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Club Name : InMemoryofMichaelJSandy
Description : Even though I never knew Michael, I am a proud Brooklynite and live within seconds of the area he was attacked in. When I heard of this incident, I was disgusted. Brooklyn, New York City, New York, the United States should NOT be a location of hate! We should be a people of tolerance and respect. The criminals associated with this crime do not represent the heart of Brooklyn, the compassion of New Yorkers, or the pride of Americans. Even though I do not wish anyone harm, such individuals should learn that it is a privilege to live within a civilized society. May justice prevail and G-d be with Michael and his family.
Keep Hope Alive!!!
Please honor Michael by adding all of your friends to this group. Just press the "Invite Others" button on the upper right hand corner of this page. We must support the fight and fight the hate. Please continue to exemplify tolerance to the world and help others steer away from the path of hate.
Michael J. Sandy (October 12, 1977 - October 13, 2006).
Michael Sandy: Targeted. Attacked. Murdered!
...Don't hate; tolerate!"
Michael's Myspace account: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=7430796
****NEWS UPDATE*****
New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
Gay-slay suspects
tell of escape try
By Nancie L. Katz
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
In chilling confessions, two men charged in a fatal attack on a gay man in Brooklyn told police how they chased their victim into Belt Parkway traffic to his death.
"Me, Anthony and Gary followed the guy and he ran onto the highway," said accused killer Ilye Shurov, 20. "I saw the guy get hit by a car."
His confession and that of co-defendant John Fox, 19, were released yesterday after they were indicted for the murder of Michael Sandy, whom they allegedly lured on the Internet to a Plumb Beach rendezvous with a promise of sex.
Shurov wrote that he met with Fox and two other pals, Anthony Fortunato, 20, and Gary Timmins, 16, on the night of Oct. 8. "They told me they had been on a gay chat room and that it was the easiest way to rob somebody," he wrote.
Shurov and Fox furnished creepy details of how they stalked their victim.
"As [John] walked with the guy to the beach, the three of us rushed up to him. John tried to hit the guy. He ran to his car," he wrote. "The guy couldn't close the car door. He ran into the lot. John swung at him."
Sandy was left to die by the side of the highway, but languished on life support for a week before his heartbroken family pulled the plug on his 29th birthday.
Shurov, Fox and Fortunato face a minimum of 20 years to life in prison. Timmins, who was arrested, is believed to be cooperating with authorities.
Brooklyn: Fourth Arrest in Bias Attack
By MICHAEL BRICK
Published: October 26, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/26/nyregion/26mbrfs-001.html
A fourth young man was arrested yesterday in a bias attack on a gay man who was fatally struck by a car while fleeing a robbery, prosecutors said. Law enforcement officials have said the man arrested yesterday, Anthony Fortunato, 20, of Brooklyn, selected the victim, Michael J. Sandy, 29, also of Brooklyn, from a gay men’s Web site and lured him to the crime scene, a parking lot in Sheepshead Bay near the Belt Parkway, on Oct. 8. Mr. Sandy, who was chased onto the parkway and hit by a car, died five days later. Mr. Fortunato was charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime under the theory that he chose Mr. Sandy because he considered gays easy targets. Two other men have been indicted on the same charges, and a 16-year-old has been arraigned but not indicted.
Brooklyn: Two Indicted in Belt Parkway Death
By MICHAEL BRICK
Published: October 17, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/nyregion/17mbrfs-005.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
A grand jury indicted two men yesterday on charges of second-degree murder as a hate crime in the death of a gay man who was beaten and then struck by a car on Oct. 8 during a robbery attempt. Prosecutors said the men who were charged, John Fox, 19, and Ilya Shurov, 20, were among four men who used the Internet to lure the victim, Michael J. Sandy, 29, of Williamsburg, to a spot in Sheepshead Bay. Mr. Sandy was beaten and chased onto the Belt Parkway, where he was hit by a car. He was removed from life support and died on Friday as prosecutors were presenting evidence to the grand jury. Prosecutors attached the hate crime distinction, which can affect sentencing, on the theory that Mr. Sandy was chosen by his assailants because they believed a gay man would be too weak or unwilling to put up a fight. A third suspect, Gary Timmins, 16, has also been arrested; all three are being held without bail. A fourth man who was questioned has not been charged
The New York Times (Al Baker): October 14 2006
(http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/14/nyregion/14attack.html)
The victim of what the authorities say was a hate crime died in a Brooklyn hospital yesterday, five days after he was attacked, robbed and forced into roaring traffic on the Belt Parkway, where he was struck by a hit-and-run driver.
The victim, Michael J. Sandy, turned 29 on Thursday. McCartha L. Lewis, his aunt, said dozens of his friends and relatives gathered at Mr. Sandy’s bedside at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center about noon as he was taken off a respirator that was supporting his breathing.
“He was already brain dead,†Ms. Lewis said. “He was already gone. Michael is at peace at this moment, resting peacefully right now.â€
She added, “It was a very sad moment at that time, and up to now it is still a very sad time for us.â€
Three Brooklyn men have been charged with hate crimes in connection with the attack on Mr. Sandy, who grew up on Long Island and worked in the interiors department at the Ikea store in Hicksville.
Officials said the men singled out Mr. Sandy for being gay and plotted to rob him by using AOL instant messages to lure him to a parking lot by Plumb Beach near Sheepshead Bay about 9:40 p.m. Sunday.
Detectives investigating Mr. Sandy’s Internet communications in the hours before the attack were led to the first suspect, John Fox, 19, of Knapp Street in Brooklyn, a sophomore at SUNY Maritime College. The other two suspects are Gary Timmins, 16, of Gerritsen Beach and Ilya Shurov, 20, of Sheepshead Bay. The three men have been charged with first-degree assault as a hate crime and first- and second-degree robbery, also as hate crimes, according to the police.
A fourth man was questioned and released, officials said, though the investigation is continuing.
Yesterday, a grand jury indicted Mr. Fox on charges of assault and attempted robbery as hate crimes, according to court and law enforcement officials. On Monday, prosecutors are expected to reconvene the grand jury to ask it to reindict Mr. Fox on felony murder charges.
Also on Monday, the grand jury is expected to consider an indictment against Mr. Shurov, and on Tuesday, against Mr. Timmins.
NYC Gay Hate-Crime Victim Dies
by 365GayNewscenterStaff
10.13.2006 6:30 PM EDT
(New York City) Michael Sandy, the 28 year old gay Brooklyn man who was beaten and then chased into the path of a speeding car, died Friday, hours after his family instructed doctors to take him off a life-support machine.
Sandy had been in a coma since the attack. Doctors at Doctors at Brookdale Hospital told the family Friday morning that Sandy would never regain consciousness and was brain dead.
Three Brooklyn men have been charged with hate crimes in the attack on Sandy.
John Fox, 19; Ilya Shurov, 20, and Gary Timmins, 16 are charged with assault and robbery as hate crimes. New York City Police said Friday afternoon that the charges will be upgraded to include murder.
A fourth man man accused of being an accomplice is cooperating with police and reportedly led investigators to the other three.
Police allege that Fox and Shurov posed as gay men, cruising an Internet chat room looking for a mark to rob. They met Sandy online.
Chat messages between Sandy and the men were reportedly found on his home computer and a printout from his computer showing directions to Plum Beach, a popular cruising area, were found in his car.
Police allege that Sandy arranged to meet Fox on a street corner in Sheepshead Bay. The two then drove the short distance to the beach where the other three were waiting.
When the gang began beating him Sandy bolted for the nearby Belt Parkway with his attackers in close pursuit.
They caught up with him in one lane of the highway and as Sandy broke free he was struck by a car, sustaining massive injuries.
The attackers were last seen rifling through Sandy's pockets before fleeing.
The car did not stop and police earlier this week appealed for the driver to come forward.
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