Attack Suspects Are Questioned In Gay Internet Setup

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK - The police were questioning four suspects last night who they believe played a part in an attack on a 28-year-old interior designer in Brooklyn on Sunday night, forcing him onto the Belt Parkway, where he was struck by a car and critically injured.
The police say the suspects took part in the attack on the victim, Michael J. Sandy, in order to rob him, after arranging to meet him in a narrow parking lot between the Plumb Beach shoreline and the heavily traveled highway on the edge of Sheepshead Bay.
A law enforcement official said a 19-year-old Brooklyn man, who they believe had a direct role in the attack, is a sophomore at SUNY Maritime College. It was unclear what roles the other men played.
Last night, the men were being held at the 61st Precinct station house, and they were expected to be charged criminally, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.
Mr. Sandy, who works at the Long Island Ikea and lives in Williamsburg, remained in critical condition at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, said Ruth Richman, a hospital spokeswoman.
It was through the Internet that Mr. Sandy arranged to rendezvous with the men in the parking lot on Sunday night, the official said. By tracking certain communications and e-mail messages, police detectives were able to piece together a leading theory that the attack amounted to an orchestrated robbery, the official said. “It was like a scam,” the official said. “As of this time it was basically a robbery.”
In arranging to meet Mr. Sandy, the men told him to bring enough money so they could pay for a hotel room, the police said. One of the men met Mr. Sandy on Sunday at Coyle Street and Emmons Avenue and drove to the parking lot near Plumb Beach, where the three others were waiting, the police said.
No weapon was displayed in the attack, the police said.
Originally, Brooklyn detectives worked the case with colleagues from the Police Department’s Hate Crime Task Force as the attack was being investigated as a possible bias crime.
The area where Mr. Sandy was attacked about 9:40 p.m. on Sunday is a familiar meeting place for gay men, officials and others said.
from The New York Times