Suspect in Latest West Village Gay Attacks Was on Parole
Following the latest in a string of gay "bias attacks," police have arrested a 45-year-old Queens man for attacking two men in the West Village Friday night, including a bartender at what authorities called the city's oldest gay bar, Julius. The suspect was already on parole for a separate, seven-month-old grand larceny charge.
Giunta first attacked a man in front of 114 Christopher Street, grabbing his wallet and cutting his face with a punch, authorities said.About 10 minutes later, at 5:40 p.m., he slugged a man two blocks away inside the Julius Bar, the city's oldest gay watering hole, authorities said.
"What are you going to do, you f------ n-----," he allegedly yelled at that victim. "You are a f-----g f----t."
Giunta was arrested Friday and charged with misdemeanor as a hate crime and attempted robbery.
DNAInfo interviewed a separate bartender at Julius, who said Giunta was "banned from the Julius Bar a decade earlier, but staff didn't recognize him as the same man." The first victim "was treated for a laceration that required stitches at Beth Israel Hospital."
Giunta is currently being held at the Manhattan Detention Center in Downtown Manhattan on $25,000 bail. He's charged with third-degree attempted robbery.
According to Manhattan Supreme Court records, Giunta was previously arrested in March on one count of felony grand larceny and a misdemeanor count of petit larceny. He pleaded guilty to those charges in exchange for two to four years of supervised parole.
Update: Erin Duggan, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan DA's office, says Giunta was charged with two felonies (attempted robbery and assault as a hate crime), not a misdemeanor. She says the case is being investigated and prosecuted by the DA's new Hate Crimes Unit.
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