Local teens charged with hate crime

County police arrested three local teenagers last week and charged them with assaulting a fellow teen and hurling anti-gay slurs at him during a bus ride home from a Hicksville BOCES school. Police classified the assault as a hate crime.

David Spencer, 18, of North Valley Stream, and 16-year-olds Chase Morrison, of Lakeview, and Roy Wilson, of Baldwin, slapped and kicked the 14-year-old boy at around 2:15 p.m. on Oct. 12, police said. The trio began taunting the boy on a school bus heading home from the Cantiague Rock Road BOCES complex. Spencer and Morrison made disparaging remarks about the victim’s sexual orientation using the words “bitch,” “gay” and “faggot,” according to Lt. John MacEwen, commanding officer of the 2nd Precinct.

As the verbal harassment escalated, the victim walked to the back of the bus, where he was followed by all three teens, who physically assaulted him, police said. According to MacEwen, they slapped him in the head and face and stomped on and kicked his arms, stomach and legs. Reacting to the attack, the bus driver stopped the bus and told the boys to sit down or she wouldn’t continue driving, MacEwen said. A pregnant bus aide was present on the bus.

The victim did not report the assault to school officials until the following day, after a morning bus ride during which the trio threatened to “get him” later that afternoon, according to police. School officials immediately reported the incident to the victim’s parents and to police, who are still investigating.

“We are committed to providing a safe learning environment for all students,” said BOCES spokeswoman Mary Quinn. “Aggression, bullying or harassment of any kind is not tolerated. This matter was reported to the police as soon as we learned of it, and we continue to work cooperatively with them.”

It was unknown at press time why the bus driver and the aide failed to report the incident to school officials or police.

Spencer and Morrison were charged with second-degree harassment, and all three teens were charged with third-degree assault. Coupled with the hate-crime classification, the misdemeanors are considered class E felonies, according to Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey.

“County Executive [Ed] Mangano and I have a zero-tolerance policy toward hate crimes anywhere in Nassau County,” Mulvey said at an Oct. 14 news conference. “Unfortunately, this kind of hate and bias exists in our society.”

Mulvey referenced the recent spate of hate crimes against gay people in the metropolitan area, particularly one in which 10 members of a small-time Bronx gang tortured and assault three men, and said he found it hard to believe than this kind of assault would take place in Nassau County.

The commissioner said there has not been an uptick in bias crimes in the county, which averages about 100 bias crimes annually.

Mulvey and MacEwen said that the verbal harassment in this case had been ongoing, but that this is the first time it became physical. “Bullying is a big component of this,” Mulvey said.

Following their arraignments last week in First District Court in Hempstead, Spencer was held on $1,000 cash bail and Wilson on $500 cash bail. Morrison’s bail was set at $10,000 bond or $5,000 cash for the hate crime.

According to a spokesman for the Nassau County district attorney’s office, Morrison is also being held on additional bail of $100,000 bond or $50,000 cash in connection with an alleged first-degree robbery, committed at knifepoint on Oct. 12 in West Hempstead. All three teens were due back in court on Tuesday.

The Legal Aid Society of Nassau County is representing all three defendants. An agency spokeswoman said that the organization does not comment on ongoing cases.

Last Friday, police arrested a third boy, a 14-year-old Elmont resident, in connection with the crime. He was charged with third-degree assault as a hate crime and second-degree aggravated harassment. Police did not release the boy’s identity.

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