From: WillNich@aol.com Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 17:24:56 EDT Subject: Gaybasher Convicted in a Small Kentucky Town From The Letter (Louisville). Gaybasher Convicted in Greenup County [based on information from the Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky.] xxx An eighteen-year-old man was convicted July 9 in Greenup County, Kentucky, for the brutal beating of a gay man near a local dam in May 1998. A jury took just two hours to find David Adkins, of Sand Hill, guilty of first-degree assault. He could be sentenced to as many as twenty years in prison. The beating took place on May 18, 1998 near the Greenup Locks and Dam. Adkins and two friends, already stoned on marijuana, went to the dam that evening looking for more. The area is reputedly a local hangout for drug dealers but attracts local gay men as well. When they spotted Darrel Earwood, 48, a hairstylist from nearby Portsmouth, Ohio, they asked him if he had any marijuana to sell. Earwood told them he didn't but, according to Adkins, suggested they might like to have sex with him instead. Adkins' girlfriend, Sheena Lore, 16, gave a slightly different picture to the jury. She testified that the three pretended to be gay in order to lure Earwood to a place where they could rob him. She said Adkins told her they'd used that ploy to rob other gay men in the past. When they got to a secluded spot nearby, one of Adkins' friends proceeded to hit Earwood with a flashlight. After he fell, Adkins said he kicked him several times. He later told others he also hit him with a tire iron but denied it during the trial. The three then fled the scene. Earwood lay bloodied until the next day, when he was found and taken to a local hospital. He lay in a coma and was on life support for several days. He now has permanent damage to his brain and has to use a cane to get around. He is no longer able to work. After the trial, Adkins' attorney, Brian McCloud, expressed dismay at the verdict. "I just feel sorry for David and his parents," he told a reporter. "It's not [the verdict] we expected." An appeal is planned. Trials for the other two defendants, Jonathan Brown, 18, and Brandon Evans, 17, are scheduled to take place in early August. END ============================================================ From: WillNich@aol.com Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1999 19:16:28 EDT Subject: Updated Story on Greenup County Gaybashing Gaybasher Convicted in Greenup County by David Williams, The Letter (Louisville) [based on information from the Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky., and Daniel Stewart] An eighteen-year-old man was convicted July 9 in Greenup Co. for the brutal beating of a gay man near a local dam in May 1998. A jury took just two hours to find David Adkins of Sand Hill guilty of first-degree assault. A robbery charge was dismissed. It recommended he spend ten years in prison, but he could get as many as twenty. The bashing took place on May 18, 1998 near the Greenup Locks and Dam, a popular gay meeting place which straddles the Ohio River in northeastern Kentucky about five miles south of Wheelersburg, OH. That evening, Adkins and two friends, already stoned on marijuana, went to the dam looking for more. They spotted Darrel Earwood, now 48. Earwood, a hairstylist from nearby Portsmouth, OH, said he'd gone to the dam to use the restroom after returning from a trip to Columbus, OH. When the boys asked him if he had any marijuana, Earwood replied he didn't but, according to Adkins, suggested they might like to have sex instead. Earwood, whose memory functions are now impaired, can recall no such conversation. Sheena Lore, Adkins' girlfriend, told the jury that Adkins and his friends pretended to be gay in order to lure Earwood to a place where they could rob him. She said Adkins told her they'd used that ploy to rob other gay men in the past. When they got to a secluded side road off Greysbranch Rd., one of Adkins' friends hit Earwood with a flashlight. After he fell, Adkins kicked the right side of Earwood's head several times and hit him with a tire iron (during the trial he repeatedly denied using one). He later told Lore and two other witnesses he'd wanted to see some brains. The three then fled. Adkins eventually returned to the scene twice, the second time with Lore. Earwood, in a coma, was still propped against his car but the two did nothing. Lore testified she was afraid to call authorities because she was skipping school that day and worried her mother would find out, but she also felt intimidated by Adkins. Adkins denied threatening her. A passing motorist finally spotted Earwood, who was rushed to a local hospital. He remained unconscious for several days and was later put on life support. He now has permanent brain damage, suffers a limp, has to use a cane, and is unable to work. A 71-year-old man is taking care of him. After the trial, Adkins' lawyer, Brian McCloud, expressed surprise at the outcome. "I just feel sorry for David and his parents," he told a reporter for Ashland's Daily Independent. "It's not [the verdict] we expected." Trials for the other two defendants, Jonathan Brown, 18, and Brandon Evans, 17, are scheduled to take place in early August. The Greenup Locks and Dam is a local hangout for drug dealers and troublemakers, but it also attracts a goodly share of gay men from southeastern Ohio, western West Virginia, and eastern Kentucky. The closest gay bar is in Huntington, WV. According to Daniel Stewart, a gay activist who writes for this newspaper, several gaybashings have occurred there, most notably in a park on the Kentucky side. Few if any have been reported to the police, however. He says that at least one older gay man was shot to death at the dam in the early 90s. As far as he knows, the case remains unsolved. "There are many things I could tell you about that place," reports Stewart. "It definitely is very dangerous, especially at night."