Suspect Charged With Hurling Anti-Gay Slur, Using Taser On Man In Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man has been charged with a hate crime in connection to an attack in Ridgewood, Queens, in which he allegedly shocked another man with a Taser while calling him an anti-gay slur.
Joseph Desmond, 23, of the 0-99 block of Eldert Street in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, was arraigned Tuesday on an indictment charging him with second-degree assault as a hate crime, and three other felony charges.
Around 8:10 p.m. Sept. 25, the 23-year-old victim was standing at Gates and Fairview avenues in Queens, when Desmond allegedly walked up to him, hurled an anti-gay slur, shocked him with a Taser to his torso, and ran off.
The victim suffered chest pains, but was able to call police. Desmond was arrested soon afterward in the courtyard of a building nearby, prosecutors said.
"Crimes of hate – such as this random and senseless attack – will never be tolerated here in Queens County," Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a news release. "When they do, regrettably, occur, they will be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Every person has the right to feel safe to walk the streets without being harassed or assaulted based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation."
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