Michael Sandy’s Fateful Moment
Diligent work by the New York Police Department enabled detectives to track down the four men who lured, beat, and attempted to rob Michael Sandy last Sunday. He was left unconscious and in a coma after being hit by a car as he attempted to flee the scene. Sandy was taken off respirators Thursday night and died Friday.
With the good fortune of finding Sandy’s personal computer still on when they searched his apartment at the beginning of their investigation, police were able to piece together evidence that led to the arrest of John Fox, Gary Timmins, Ilya Shurov, and a fourth man, Anthony Fortunato, who has been questioned but thus far not charged.
Sunday’s New York Times has the moving and sad account of the fateful moment when Micheal Sandy made contact with his attackers, and the incident that ensued:
Officials say they believe the four gathered at Mr. Fortunato’s house on Sunday and began exchanging instant messages with Mr. Sandy, whom they may have found through the gay-themed Web site Adam4Adam.com. They apparently accessed the Web by tapping into a neighbor’s wireless Internet connection and used Mr. Fox’s America Online account and screen name, “fireyefox,” to exchange instant messages with Mr. Sandy, the officials said.Posing as a single individual, they proposed a tryst. “Fireyefox” told Mr. Sandy to go to the corner of Emmons and Coyle Streets, about a block from Mr. Fortunato’s home in Sheepshead Bay, around 7:30 p.m. But when Mr. Sandy arrived, both Mr. Fox and Mr. Fortunato were waiting for him, officials said.
He decided to drive away. The officials are not sure why Mr. Sandy decided to leave, but said that during questioning, the suspects said that Mr. Sandy indicated he did not want to have group sex.
After arriving home, however, he continued exchanging messages with “fireyefox” and was eventually persuaded to return. They encouraged Mr. Sandy to bring marijuana and $100 for a hotel room. Mr. Sandy balked at the idea of a hotel room. He agreed to have sex on the beach and said he would bring a blanket. The last message was sent about 8:50 p.m.
He arrived back in Sheepshead Bay sometime after 9 p.m. This time, only Mr. Fox awaited him. They drove together in Mr. Sandy’s blue Mazda to the narrow, dark parking lot by Plumb Beach, a few blocks away.
The other three men, the officials say, were waiting out of sight. When they arrived, Mr. Fox said he had to go to the bathroom, and walked toward the beach.
Once Mr. Sandy was out of the car, the officials said, all four men confronted him. According to the criminal complaint against Mr. Shurov, he punched Mr. Sandy. It is not known if the other three men did as well.
As the attack went on, the men drifted toward the highway. Then Mr. Sandy walked onto it, waving his arms both to ward off the blows and to stop traffic. According to witnesses, he made it to the middle of the road. Mr. Fortunato and Mr. Timmins ran away, the officials said.
But according to the complaint against Mr. Shurov, two of the men struggled with Mr. Sandy on the Belt Parkway. The officials said that Mr. Shurov threw one more punch at Mr. Sandy, who turned, ran and was hit by a car, eyewitnesses said. The officials said that Mr. Fox then ran away. The vehicle has not been identified, nor the driver located.
But the attack was not over. Before departing, according to the witnesses cited in the criminal complaint, Mr. Shurov rifled through Mr. Sandy’s pockets.
He found nothing, and all four returned to Mr. Fortunato’s home later that night.
Undoubtedly, there will be some who will attempt to blame the victim. Defense attorneys usually try to employ that strategy. They’ll try to impugn Michael Sandy’s character or question why he was looking for sex on the internet in the first place. They'll take issue with the practice of “gay cruising” or even subtly question the morality of homosexuality itself.
But Michael Sandy’s sexual orientation didn’t cause his death. The internet isn’t responsible either. At least three men, with a scheme to rob people they thought would be vulnerable targets are to blame for his being in a location where he had to run for his life by crossing a busy highway where he was subsequently hit by a car. Those are the straight facts.
Posted by bernie at October 15, 2006 12:07 AMso sad
Posted by: Shawn at October 16, 2006 11:22 AMi like how you put it at the end, that these criminals were looking for a specific kind of target and unfortunately found Sandy.
did you make it to the rally?
Posted by: liza at October 16, 2006 7:46 PM