Q-Seattle Events: Tacky Tourist Clubs

One of two suspects in the hate-crime death of a Sacramento man entered a plea today of not guilty.

Aleksandr Shevchenko, 21, faces a single felony count of intimidating and interfering with a person's rights, a charge that falls under the state's hate crimes statutes.

Shevchenko, with close-cropped brown hair and wearing a white shirt and black pants, shook his head and said "not guilty" when Judge Jaime Rene Roman read the charge against him.

Shevchenko is one of two men charged in the alleged hate-crime killing of Satender Singh in a confrontation at a Sacramento area park on July 1. The other man charged in the case, Andrey Vusik, fled to Russia and is being sought by the FBI on a fugitive warrant. Schevchenko, 22, turned himself into the sheriff's department on Aug. 6 and is free, pending trial, after posting part of a $25,000 bond.

Vusik allegedly punched Singh on July 1 after a day-long series of verbal confrontations between a group of Russian speaking people and a group that included Singh, a Fijian immigrant.

Singh, 26, fell backward, striking his head and rupturing a critical part of his brain stem. He died four days later.

Friends with Singh that day have said the "Russian-speaking" group hurled anti-gay epithets and racial taunts before Singh was punched.

Relatives of both suspects have insisted Singh's death was not intentional. Vusik's wife said her husband acted in self-defense.

The suspects' families have maintained that members of Singh's group were dancing provocatively, using foul language and drinking heavily that Sunday at the park. [SacBee]

Members of evangelical Russian-language churches in Sacramento have long staged protests at virtually every gay-related event scheduled in the capital city. Singh's friends have said that he might have been singled out because he was dancing with both women and men at a lakeside celebration of Singh's recent job promotion. [See previous post.]

Marcos Breton, a columnist for the Bee, last week appealed for calm in what has become a contentious issue in Sacramento.

Because now is the time for moderate voices to step forward. Now is the time for the rhetoric in the Singh case to be dialed down.

In that spirit, it should be stated that the suspect in this case is from Sacramento's Slavic community -- but the entire Slavic community is not suspect.

It should be stated that there were escalating tensions between some Slavic Christians and Sacramento's gay community before Singh was killed -- but the entire Slavic Christian community is not on trial. And neither is the Christian faith. Any suggestions to the contrary are simply inaccurate, a reflection of the fear and anger that have risen as justice has been delayed.

However, we shouldn't forget that long before Singh was killed, leaders in Sacramento's gay community had expressed fears about incendiary language used by some Slavic Christians in anti-gay protests around town -- fears that violence would follow.

When Singh was killed, they believe, those worst fears were realized.

Again -- we don't know if the words of some Slavic Christians created an atmosphere that led to violence.

In interviews with The Bee, members of Vusik's family said they are not affiliated with any anti-gay groups.

"We just got in the confrontation between the churches and the gay community," Vusik's wife, Tatyana, said in a recent interview. "What happened was a tragic accident and had nothing to do with gays."

An article in the Sacramento LGBT bi-weekly magazine, Outword, [issue available only in pdf format] reports that LGBT activists in Sacramento had been calling for greater police protection at gay events long before Singh's death.

"Our goal starting two years ago has been to seek safety for the gay community at our events," said Dr. David Lawson, one of the activists who attended meetings with the county sheriff and district attorney.

"While we have succeeded in increasing the awareness and presence of law enforcement at our events, we have had less success in opening a dialogue between the Queer and Slavic communities," Lawson said.

Labels: crime, gay news, ken hutcherson, news bites