By Sofia Santana
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti on Tuesday announced that he is working with state legislators to broaden Florida’s Hate Crime Statute to include crimes against the homeless.
Lamberti’s statement comes a day after sheriff’s investigators arrested two 19-year-olds on charges they roughed up a homeless man in Pompano Beach, filmed the attack and posted the footage on the Internet. A third 19-year-old also is facing charges and is expected to eventually turn himself in, Lamberti said.
The attack, like others Broward authorities have seen in recent years, was done merely for kicks, Lamberti said.
“It’s not a sport. It’s a crime, and it’s going to be treated that way,” he said.
State Rep. Ari Porth, D-Coral Springs, has filed a bill that would amend the statute.
The most recent homeless beating arrests stem from an attack that happened in July 2008 outside the Blue Sky Motel, in the 500 block of South Ocean Boulevard, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Brandon Edwards, of Fort Lauderdale, attacked James Cunningham, 54, by kicking, taunting, slapping and dragging him across the asphalt, investigators said. William Sleight, 19, of Deerfield Beach, filmed the attack on his cell phone, investigators said.
They found the video clips online while investigating a deadly Oakland Park beating from April that Edwards had been a suspect in. He has not been charged in that case.
Edwards and Sleight were being held Tuesday evening without bond at the Broward County Jail.
A third suspect, Nicholas Bakum, 19, of Lighthouse Point, is expected to turn himself in later, and officials say they also are looking for a fourth suspect they know only as “Brad.”
Copyright 2009 South Florida Sun-Sentinel