ABQjournal: Attack Puts Gay Man in Hospital By Jeremy Pawloski, Journal Staff Writer

Hate crimes are alive and well in Santa Fe, according to court records describing a vicious Sunday morning attack outside a Cerrillos Road hotel that put a 21-year-old homosexual man in St. Vincent Hospital’s intensive care unit.

Three defendants face aggravated assault and other charges connected to the attack. Santa Fe District Attorney Henry Valdez said all three also will face “hate crime” prison-time enhancements on each of their felony charges.

One of the suspects, David Trinidad, 17, already is on probation for raping a 41/2-year-old boy, according to Assistant District Attorney Heidi Pircher.

The two victims of the attack, James Maestas, 21, and another male, were at the Denny’s Restaurant on Cerrillos with several girlfriends early Sunday morning when they were chased from the restaurant by a group of five males who were throwing rocks at their car and calling them “faggots,” according to an officer’s statement of probable cause for arrests in the case.

The statement says the attackers then followed Maestas and his friend to the La Quinta Inn, where the friend was staying. Maestas is in a relationship with the other male, according to the probable cause statement.

During the beating outside La Quinta Inn, the attackers were yelling, “Let’s (mess) these faggots up,” the officer’s statement says.

Monday afternoon, Maestas was in St. Vincent Hospital’s intensive care unit, hooked up to a respirator to allow him to breathe, according to a close friend.
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The Thugs:
Gabriel Maturin, 20
David Trinidad, 17
Isaiah Medina, 19
two others not named