Guilty Verdicts In Hate Crime Beating

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By By Liz Rocca

Summary

Three men have been found guilty of attacking Micah Painter outside a bar in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood in June.

Story Published: Mar 30, 2005 at 10:51 AM PDT

Story Updated: Jul 24, 2009 at 11:53 AM PDT

Guilty Verdicts In Hate Crime Beating
SEATTLE - Three Bellingham men accused of a hate crime have been found guilty of assault in attacking a Seattle man on Capitol Hill last June.

Prosecutors were certain the men set out to beat and stab Micah Painter simply because he is gay.

The jury agreed, convicting 21-year-old Vadim Samusenko, 20-year-old David Kravchenko and 18-year-old Eugene Savchak of a hate crime against Micah Painter.

"Their statements made it gay bashing," said juror Todd Zey. "They made it a hate crime by their own words and once you looked at the facts, you couldn't get around that."

Last June, the three men screamed insults at Painter near a Capitol Hill gay bar.

Samusenko slashed Painter with a broken vodka bottle and beat him, leaving large wounds on Painter's back and face.

Gay rights advocates have watched the trial closely.

"They say there's no gay bias in Washington State," said Ryan Biava of Equal Rights Washington. "Well, you can look at this case and it's irrefutable proof that there is violent and extreme opposition."

Prosecutors also wanted convictions for first degree assault. But, jurors couldn't agree on that, and convicted them on lesser assault charges -- second-degree assault for Samusenko and fourth-degree assault for the other two.

They say they couldn't decide how seriously the men intended to hurt Painter.

"I think it's a victory for my client," said defense attorney Tim McGarry. "He always believed he did not participate in the most serious charges, Assault in the First Degree."

But prosecutor Sean O'Donnell countered: "I see that as a clear sign that the jury did not approve of this conduct and Mr. Painter was the victim here, that's what I took from that verdict."

Zay added: "I think justice got served. They're going to have to pay for what they did."

In the end, Painter didn't show up for the verdicts. Friends say he just couldn't face his attackers again.

Each of the men will face at least a year in prison, but Samusenko could face a sentence of five years for his primary role in the attack.

For More Information:

July 14, 2004 -- 2 Arrested In Attack Outside Gay Night Club