Suspect charged in beating gay man / LJWorld.com

Archive for Friday, August 15, 2003

Victim relieved, but district attorney says evidence of hate crime lacking

August 15, 2003

A Wamego man was charged Thursday with slugging Jeffrey Medis last year during a fracas outside the Replay Lounge.

"Oh, this is good news," said Medis, who is openly gay and has characterized the incident as a hate crime.

Douglas County Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney filed one count of misdemeanor battery against Luke Wells of Wamego. A hearing date has not been set.

If convicted, Wells could be sentenced to a maximum six months in jail and fined as much as $1,500.

Wells testified last month that he and some friends were outside the Replay Lounge, 946 Mass., shortly after 1 a.m. Dec. 6 when they were accosted by Medis and Medis' friend John Thomas Simmons.

Wells said he hit Medis once after Medis took two swings at Wells' friend Nikolaus Eichman.

Wells testified during a trial in which Simmons was accused of hitting four men in Wells' group.

Medis, who suffered broken upper and lower jaws, a broken nose, a fractured eye socket and a gash on his chin that took six stitches to close, testified he had no memory of the events leading to his being hit but found it hard to believe he had swung at anyone.

At the time, Medis said he was wearing heavy eye makeup and a frilly white jacket he called his "gay snowball" outfit.

6News video: Charges filed in fight in front of Replay Lounge

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Immunity pact infuriating to jury (7-30-03)

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6News video: Medis disappointed in handling of case

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Witnesses: Fight not hate crime (7-29-03)

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6News video: Witnesses testify in beating case (7-29-03)

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First charges filed in fight outside Replay Lounge (2-26-03)

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Beating victim questions case's progress (2-13-03)

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Police identify suspect in beating (12-25-02)

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Dozens at vigil decry beating (12-14-02)

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Police seek clues in beating (12-09-02)

A jury found Simmons guilty of hitting Marty McSorley and Ryan McAtee and of disorderly conduct, but not guilty of striking Eichman and William Roe.

Roe, Eichman, McAtee and McSorley are members of the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity at Kansas University. Wells, a high school friend of Eichman's, is not a member of the fraternity.

After the verdict, juror Katherine Harris criticized the District Attorney's Office for its handling of the case, noting that jurors were upset no one had been charged with assaulting Medis.

Harris said most of the jurors did not believe the fraternity members' version of the events.

Harris, who is a lesbian, said that after sitting through the trial she thought Medis' homosexuality was a factor in the attack.

Kenney said the decision to charge Wells was based on post-trial interviews with two key witnesses and four of the six jurors.

"After those interviews, the decision was made that charging Mr. Wells was warranted," she said.

But the evidence, Kenney said, still does not indicate that Medis was hit because he is gay.

"There is no evidence that the perceived sexual orientation of Mr. Medis was a motivating factor behind this incident," Kenney said.

In exchange for his testimony in the Simmons trial, Wells was granted "use immunity," a legal term meaning that what he said in court would not be used against him.

The agreement, Kenney said, does not prevent her office from using evidence and testimony gathered before and after Simmons' trial.

Journal-World attempts to reach Wells' attorney for comment were unsuccessful.

Medis, who now lives in Oakland, Calif., said he would return to Lawrence for Wells' trial.

"I'm very pleased this has transpired," Medis said. "I was worried that an ugly precedent was being set by the DA's office. The fact that someone has been charged comes as a relief -- I feel like I'm no longer in limbo."