The teenager suspected in the death of a man outside gay bar said he only punched the victim after the man grabbed his buttocks and crotch, according to an arrest affidavit filed by D.C. detectives.
One of three witnesses corroborated the version offered by Robert Lee Hannah, the 18-year-old charged last week with voluntary manslaughter in the beating death of Tony Randolph Hunter.
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Hunter’s death had galvanized the gay and lesbian community who say they are targeted because of their sexual orientation. Some 200 people held a candlelight vigil at the site of Hunter’s attack, calling for action against violence.
Police initially said the crime might be classified as a hate crime based on Hunter’s sexual orientation and the proximity to BeBar, a club that caters to the gay community. But after reviewing the case more thoroughly, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier and prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office concluded there was no evidence to indicate this crime was motivated by hate or bias. Lanier also ruled out the possibility the motive was robbery.
A judge last week ordered Hannah held until his preliminary hearing on Thursday. The judge will decide whether to release Hannah or keep him behind bars until his trial.
Police said Hunter and Hannah crossed paths shortly before midnight on Sept. 7, at the corner of 8th and N streets NW in Shaw. Hunter and a male friend were on their way to BeBar, a gay night club when they came across Hannah and three other males.
One witness told police that Hunter or his friend said, “Oh, I know you,” before touching Hannah’s buttocks, police said. Hannah swung and Hunter fell to the ground, striking his back of his head to the pavement so with such force that one witness said it made a “loud thump.”
While Hunter lay on the ground, he was kicked in the head, police said. Two witnesses said Hannah chanted “The Terrace,” before leaving the scene. The Terrace refers to a street crew that operates in the areas of 6th and N street, 7th and N streets and 8th and N Streets, police said.
