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JUDGE DISMISSES ‘STAND YOUR GROUND’ DEFENSE FROM ACCUSED MIAMI GAY BASHERS

Case Can Go to Trial

Jason Parsley

Four men accused of attacking a gay couple in 2018 after Miami Beach Pride were in court this week for a hearing where their defense attorneys asked a judge to dismiss all charges against their clients claiming self-defense.

They were denied.

Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan rejected the Stand Your Ground defense motion filed by the accused attackers.

“[The victims] were just standing there being beaten upon. And any one of these defendants, if they were in fear for their lives, one of the four could have picked up the phone. One of the four could have been calling for help,” Orshan said. “No, they all engaged in this behavior. I cannot find that any one of these defendants is immune for prosecution so the motion to dismiss is denied.”

The date of the next hearing is now set for early March.

The case is now almost four years old. The alleged attack, which was caught on camera, took place April 8, 2018, after the closing festivities of Miami Beach Pride. The trial was supposed to start Nov. 30, but on Nov. 18 defense attorneys threw a curveball when they

“I cannot find told the judge they wanted a that any one of these defendants continuance in order to file a Stand Your Ground motion. Under the Stand Your is immune for Ground law in Florida a person prosecution who is attacked has no duty to retreat, and the law allows so the motion them to “stand their ground” to dismiss is denied.” and “meet force with force.” When a defendant files a stand your ground motion it allows - Ariana Fajardo Orshan Judge the judge to dismiss the charges without going to trial if they find the actions were justified. In this case the attack was caught on video and according to the arrest report, the video footage is consistent with what victims told police. The four defendants — Adonis Diaz, Juan

Video Footage of the alleged attackers. Photo Via Miami Beach PD. From top left: Luis Alonso-Piovet, Pablo Reinaldo Romo-Figueroa, Adonis Diaz and Juan C. Lopez. Photos via Miami-Dade corrections.

Carlos Lopez, Luis Alonso-Piovet, and Pablo Reinaldo Romo-Figueroa — all in their early 20s, have pleaded not guilty.

Here’s a recap of what allegedly happened: the attack took place when Rene Chalarca and Dmitry Logunov, now 35, were leaving a public bathroom in Lummus Park in Miami Beach about 8 p.m. after the local pride festival had wrapped up.

“We were walking and holding hands and needed to use the bathroom,” Logunov told SFGN in 2018. So the two of them stopped at a public restroom as they headed home for the evening.

According to testimony, as the two victims were leaving the restroom and holding hands one of the defendants bumped shoulders with one of the victims. After that happened Chalarca and Logunov were allegedly called “fucking faggots” in Spanish, punched, and then beaten. At one point Logunov blacked out. The two victims were boyfriends at the time.

The attack was caught on camera, and the four defendants were charged with three counts of aggravated battery. A hate crime enhancement was later added to the charges.

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GAY MAN BECOMES COMMISSIONER OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, FACES BIG CHALLENGES

John McDonald

Sworn in to lead one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the United States, Chris Magnus also joined a small group of gay national security officials.

At a formal ceremony on Feb. 4 in Washington, D.C. with his husband looking on, Magnus took the oath of office to serve as the commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“This is the honor of a lifetime,” said Magnus, a career cop who takes over a troubled agency nestled front and center of the ongoing immigration debate. “I consider it a special privilege to lead an agency with such a dedicated workforce that has such a critical mission.”

Magnus, 61, becomes the fifth commissioner in the history of Customs and Border Protection, a full-service global border entity created in 2003. He was nominated in April 2021 by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in December. The confirmation places Magnus in exclusive company.

“His confirmation is significant in two ways,” said Lucas F. Schleusener, cofounder and president of Out in National Security, a hub that empowers and connects LGBTQIA+ national security professionals. “First, alongside other LGBTQIA+ officials in this administration, is that they are all highly qualified professionals whose sexual orientation and gender identity were not and could not be used to bar them from confirmation. Second, by serving at DHS, Commissioner Magnus is blazing a trail that will make it easier for others to follow in his footsteps.”

In his swearing-in speech, Magnus said most people do not realize the sacrifices made by families of those who serve in law enforcement.

“In my case, my husband Terrance gave up his job as a highly regarded program director with the Arizona Supreme Court in Pima County so we could make this move to D.C.,” Magnus said. “That’s not something I take lightly. Terrance, I love you and I thank you so much for being part of this journey with me.” The confirmation process was an arduous one for Magnus, known as a progressive police chief in Richmond, California, and Tucson, Arizona, who was critical of the Trump administration’s approach to “sanctuary cities.” U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, slowed the confirmation process to extract information of the Trump administration’s tactics in Portland, Oregon, during the protests in the summer of 2020. The Senate eventually confirmed Magnus by a 50 to 47 vote and he hit the ground

“... BY SERVING AT DHS, running, describing his first six weeks on the job as a “whirlwind.”

COMMISSIONER “The whole drinking out of a

MAGNUS IS BLAZING A fire hose metaphor couldn’t be more applicable,” Magnus said. Schleusener, a speechwriter TRAIL THAT WILL for former Department of

MAKE IT EASIER FOR OTHERS TO Defense Secretaries Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel and Ash Carter, said that fewer than

FOLLOW IN HIS FOOTSTEPS.” 20 LGBT national security officials have been confirmed by the Senate and there is a - Lucas F. Schleusener CO-FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF reason why that number is not higher.

OUT IN NATIONAL SECURITY “The fact that it’s this small is a result of the historical discrimination that the community has faced at large, and in particular in national security and law enforcement, as a result of the Lavender Scare and an Eisenhower Executive order that remained in place until 1998 barring openly gay people from receiving clearances,” Schleusener said. Operating under the Department of Homeland Security, CBP, with a workforce of 64,000, is responsible for preventing terrorists, criminals, illicit goods and contraband from

Chris Magnus speaks at his swearing in ceremony. Photo via @CBPChrisMagnus, Twitter.

entering the United States. The agency enforces more than 500 laws for 47 federal agencies, processing more than $2.8 trillion in international trade and collecting more than $93 billion in revenue.

Magnus credited U.S. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona for encouraging him to pursue the job and quipped that the long drive from Tucson with two dogs in the car was “quite an adventure.” In his short time on the job, Magnus said it is evident CBP is an agency of innovators with a dynamic mix of experience, work styles, personalities and varying approaches to getting the job done.

“It is a great day for our department and country because we have a proven, distinguished leader taking command of this incredible organization,” said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

On average, CBP welcomes over 500,000 passengers and pedestrians, screens almost 90,000 cargo containers, arrests 400,000 individuals and seizes over two tons of illicit drugs. The agency is not without its critics, notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has sparred with the Biden administration over the treatment of migrant children and alleged secret flights.

Schleusener said Magnus faces tremendous challenges in his new role. With last fall’s shocking images of border agents on horseback using whips on Haitian migrants still fresh in many minds, Congress recently called for an investigation into CBP critical incident teams.

“Many believe that over the years DHS’s mission has warped and its core functions have suffered,” said Schleusener. “With Sec. Mayorkas and others, Commissioner Magnus must rebuild the agency, regain the confidence of the public, and better prepare the CBP for its mission.”

Magnus said he intends to tackle problems through collaboration, learning from the past and being willing to try new things with emphasis on accountability and transparency.

“There are no simple strategies to irregular migration and border security,” Magnus said. “The trading environment and issues like forced labor are increasingly complex.”

Attitudes are also in need of reform, Magnus noted, and, much like the confirmation process, there are no illusions it will be a cakewalk.

“I am very aware we have moral issues to deal with,” Magnus said, also acknowledging, “Make no mistake, there is nothing easy at CBP.”