Police have arrested the thug who brutally pummeled a young gay man at a West Village McDonalds, cops said.
Anthony Bray, 21, who is homeless, has been charged with misdemeanor assault for Sundays 4:30 a.m. attack on Damian Furtch, 26, outside the fast food joint on West 3rd Street near Sixth Avenue, according to cops.
Furtch has claimed he was the victim of a hate crime, with Bray and an accomplice allegedly shouting anti-gay slurs before attacking.
However, in a shocking twist, Bray whose criminal record includes busts for marijuana, graffiti and robbery told investigators that he too is gay, police sources revealed today.
He told detectives that Furtch disrespected him, said a source.
At this time, no hate crimes charges have been leveled against Bray.
But, the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force will continue to look into Furtchs allegations and see if any additional charges are warranted, police said.
It may come down to just two guys having a fistfight, said one police source.
The way cops tell it, Furtch entered the McDonalds to grab grub and had an exchange of words with Bray, who was sitting with some pals.
After getting his food at the counter, Furtch apparently went to walk out but not before him and Bray jawed at one another again.
Once Furtch was outside, Bray pounced and landed a vicious series of punches that left the victim with two black eyes.
He and a cohort then fled.
In recent days, a tipster identified Bray as the assailant and cops reached out to his family in an effort to find the wanted man, police sources said.
Brays family contacted him, and he then contacted detectives to orchestrate his surrender, sources added.
Bray was nabbed last night at an undisclosed location in Bushwick, cops said.
A second suspect is still being sought and the investigation is ongoing, police said.
Does the revelation that the assailant was also queer make the Hate Crime charge go away?
I guess it depends on if they think he was politically correct or not.....
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