Man sentenced to 18 years in jail for fatal hate attack
A man who was part of a gang who stomped on and beat a teenager perceived to be gay, has been sentenced to 18 years in jail.
The man, Alex Velez, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in April this year.
The incident took place in March 2011, as 18-year-old Anthony Collao was leaving a party with another person, when he was chased by a gang.
Collao was beaten and thrown to the ground.
Witnesses said that the party, in a disused warehouse, had been hosted by two gay men.
The suspects had stormed in shouting anti-gay abuse and refused to pay an entry fee.
According to sources at the time, college graduate Collao left the party with a friend, fearing trouble.
But he was chased by the gang, pinned against a car and “beaten to within an inch of his life” with punches, kicks and a metal pipe.
Police also said that the suspects used anti-gay slurs, and wrote on a wall with red markers after they crashed the party.
Velez, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in April, was one of the gang accused of the attack.
He was sentenced to 18 years in prison following the hate crime prosecution.
The three others were sentenced to prison, and two more are still awaiting trial.
