What to Know
- A man will spend years behind bars in connection with a violent anti-gay attack on two men at a Brooklyn bodega in 2021, local prosecutors have said.
- Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that Christopher Clemente, 38, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision after he pleaded guilty to attempted of second degree murder as a hate crime earlier this year.
- Gonzalez said, citing the investigation, that at around 2:10 a.m. on September 4, 2021, inside a bodega located on Broadway in Bushwick, a 36-year-old man and a 29-year-old man were waiting for their food when Clemente and the co-defendant allegedly made homophobic slurs towards the victims before attacking them.
NEW YORK — A man will spend years behind bars in connection with a violent anti-gay attack on two men at a Brooklyn bodega in 2021, local prosecutors have said.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that Christopher Clemente, 38, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision after he pleaded guilty to attempted of second degree murder as a hate crime earlier this year.
The case against Clemente’s co-defendant is pending.
The sentence is related to an assault that left two men with various injuries, including collapsed lungs.
Gonzalez said, citing the investigation, that at around 2:10 a.m. on September 4, 2021, inside a bodega located on Broadway in Bushwick, a 36-year-old man and a 29-year-old man were waiting for their food when Clemente and the co-defendant allegedly made homophobic slurs towards the victims.
Clemente subsequently struck the 36-year-old man in the face and Clemente’s alleged conspirator struck the man on the head and body with a glass liquor bottle, before the man fell to the ground. Supposedly, that’s when Clemente began repeatedly stabbing the man.
Clemente and an undetained man allegedly chased after the 29-year-old man, before grabbing him and punching him in the face and body, then stabbing him while making homophobic slurs.
According to González, the older victim suffered stab wounds, including to the head, buttocks, and lung, which caused her to experience a collapsed left lung.
The younger man also suffered multiple stab wounds, including to the neck and lungs, causing both lungs to collapse and leading to a 13-day hospital stay.
“This vicious attack on two innocent victims was an intolerable act of anti-gay violence, and today’s sentencing sends a strong message that we will vigorously prosecute anyone who commits a hate crime,” González said in a statement. “No one should fear that they will be targeted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and we are committed to vigilantly protecting the rights of Brooklyn’s LGBTQ community.”
