Attack Puts Gay Man in Hospital
By Jeremy Pawloski
Journal Staff Writer

Hate crimes are alive and well in Santa Fe, according to court records describing a vicious Sunday morning attack outside a Cerrillos Road hotel that put a 21-year-old homosexual man in St. Vincent Hospital’s intensive care unit.

Three defendants face aggravated assault and other charges connected to the attack. Santa Fe District Attorney Henry Valdez said all three also will face “hate crime” prison-time enhancements on each of their felony charges.

One of the suspects, David Trinidad, 17, already is on probation for raping a 41/2-year-old boy, according to Assistant District Attorney Heidi Pircher.

The two victims of the attack, James Maestas, 21, and another male, were at the Denny’s Restaurant on Cerrillos with several girlfriends early Sunday morning when they were chased from the restaurant by a group of five males who were throwing rocks at their car and calling them “faggots,” according to an officer’s statement of probable cause for arrests in the case.

The statement says the attackers then followed Maestas and his friend to the La Quinta Inn, where the friend was staying. Maestas is in a relationship with the other male, according to the probable cause statement.

During the beating outside La Quinta Inn, the attackers were yelling, “Let’s (mess) these faggots up,” the officer’s statement says.

Monday afternoon, Maestas was in St. Vincent Hospital’s intensive care unit, hooked up to a respirator to allow him to breathe, according to a close friend.

“His face was pretty swollen,” said Alana Banner, 21, one of Maestas’ close friends who has visited him at the hospital. Banner described her friend’s beating as “awful” and “shocking.”

Deputy Police Chief Eric Johnson said Maestas was in critical condition.

The other male victim also was transported to St. Vincent Hospital with minor injuries, court records state.

The incident began at the Denny’s, where Trinidad was the waiter for a group that included the victims and several of their female friends, according to court records.

Another of the defendants, Gabriel Maturin, 20, told police the altercation started in the Denny’s parking lot. Maturin said “he became offended because one of the victims put his hand on his chest while talking to him,” the probable cause statement says.

“Suspect Maturin said that he thought the victim was trying to hit on him, which offended him,” the statement continues. “This became confrontational and Maturin’s four friends also began to close in, began calling them faggots and wanted to fight them.”

Also according to court records:
Trinidad told investigators that after he ended his shift, he joined in the rock throwing with acquaintances who were picking him up from work and were talking to the victims outside.

Trinidad also said the group knew Maestas and his friend were staying at La Quinta Inn because one of the victims told him so while Trinidad was serving them inside the Denny’s.

“Trinidad said that while en-route to the La Quinta, that they were getting pumped up and talking about ‘(messing) those faggots up,’ and ‘(expletive) white boys,’ ” court records state.

When the group arrived at La Quinta, they ran towards the victims.

“Maturin said that as he approached them he saw the two victims kissing and he pushed them and started punching victim Maestas,” court records state. “He said he was joined by suspect Isaiah Medina, who, according to Maturin, really started ‘pounding’ the victim.”

Maturin told police that Medina “straddled the victim while he was down and repeatedly struck the victim in the face and head.”

Maturin told police that he told his friends they should leave when he noticed that Maestas appeared to be unconscious.

‘Hate crime’ enhancements

According to criminal complaints for Maturin and Medina, 19, each are charged with one count each of aggravated battery, conspiracy and battery.

Trinidad, 17, is charged in Santa Fe Children’s Court on similar charges, according to Pircher.

She said Trinidad is currently on probation after being convicted in Santa Fe Children’s Court in 2003 for criminal sexual penetration of a 41/2-year-old male. At the time, Trinidad also pleaded guilty to unlawfully carrying a deadly weapon— brass knuckles— on school grounds, Pircher added.

Pircher said Monday she will seek adult sanctions against Trinidad.

The state “hate crime” enhancements prosecutors will seek against the defendants charged mean that sentences on each of the felony charges can be increased by one year, Pircher said.

Another suspect is named in records as hitting Maestas, but he had not been charged as of Monday afternoon.

Alana Banner’s mother, Busy McCarroll, described Maestas as “a kind person who wouldn’t hurt anybody.”

“He’s just a really warm, friendly, inviting, engaging person,” McCarroll said. “Somebody who can hit it off with anybody.”

A local board member of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays said Monday that incidents such as Sunday’s have happened before in Santa Fe.

Eduardo Moreno added that PFLAG is having a board meeting tonight to discuss a plan of action in the wake of Maestas’ beating.

PFLAG board member Elaine Sullivan said she wasn’t aware of all of the details of Maestas’ beating, but added that if it were motivated by his sexual orientation, “we have to say that that is totally unacceptable.”

Sullivan said it’s important to shine a light on incidents such as Sunday morning’s attack.

“I believe that homophobia is a disease and if somebody has that disease, I can be sorry that someone suffers from it,” she said. “But that person has to take responsibility for getting help for having that disease. It is not the fault of the gay community … “