Defandant acquitted in Michael Sandy Case

A Year later after the beating of Michael Sandy and we have mixed justice in his case.

A jury quickly acquitted one defendant of felony murder in the Michael J. Sandy homicide on friday, but convicted him on manslaughter and attempted robbery as hate crimes in the 2006 killing. On October 8 last year, John Fox, 20, along with Anthony Fortunato, 21, and Gary Timmins, 17, lured Sandy into agreeing to a supposed sexual encounter after discussions in an Internet gay chatroom. The three were joined by Ilya Shurov, 21, before they met Sandy. Andy Fox will be sentenced on October 24. He could get anywhere from five up to 25 years, with the requirement that he serve six-sevenths of his sentence before being eligible for parole. Before he was acquitted on the lesser charges Fox faced two counts of felony murder, one as a hate crime, which carry a maximum sentence of 25-to-life. He also faced two manslaughter counts, one as a hate crime, four counts of attempted robbery, two as hate crimes, and one count of attempted petit larceny. A second defendant Anthony Fortunato is on trail as well and the jury in his case is still deliberating.


The Attack
Sandy drove his 2004 Mazda to the location, and met Fox first, near Emmons Avenue. The then drove to Plumb Beach, where Fortunato, Shurov, and Timmons were waiting.
At about 9:45 p.m., at least four witnesses saw four white men assaulting a black man.

Shortly after Sandy arrived, witnesses saw two young white men approaching his car. At that time, Sandy was confronted by two of the young men, who began looking through his vehicle.Shurov pulled Sandy from the car and began punching him.

Attempting to escape, Sandy runs towards the highway, back-pedaling away from the attackers, towards the highway. He appeared to be calling for help on his cell phone Two of his attackers caught up with him in the right lane of the highway.Shurov pursued Sandy across the guard rail, caught up with him in the right lane, and punched him. Sandy backpedaled into the middle lane, and was struck. One of the attackers dragged Sandy back to the side of the road. Shurov was seen rifling through Sandy's pockets after he was struck.

Death
Unconscious and suffering possible brain injuries, Sandy was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he was placed on a respirator and remained in a vegetative state. Sandy remained on life support for five days, without regaining consciousness. He died on October 13, 2006, one day after his 29th birthday, when his family made the decision to remove life support.

Following Sandy's death, Fox, Fortunato, and Shurov were indicted on October 25, 2006 on charges of second degree murder as a hate crime and attempted robbery as a hate crime. The three also faced possible charges of manslaughter as a hate crime, and faced potential sentences of 25 years to life in prison.

On October 25, 2006 Timmons pleaded guilty to one count of attempted robbery in the second degree as a hate crime.

Motive
During questioning after arrest, the suspects made statements indicating that they had used the internet to lure gay men in the past. According news reports, the attackers told police that they thought gay men would be easier to rob.

On April 24, 2007, the taped statements by Fox and guy were played in court, in order to determine their admissibility at trial. In his statement. he said that he had been drinking beer at Fortunato's house, while Fortunato looked online for gay men to rob, and that Fortunato had said "It was the easiest way to make money."