Fifteen-year-old girl arrested for violent robbery of gay couple
A fifteen-year-old has been arrested in connection with the violent robbery of a gay couple.
The robbery took place in Washington DC, and Metro Transit Police made the arrest of the teenager.
Speaking to the Washington Blade, Calvin Lawrence, 48, said the incident took place when his partner Joseph Cowart, 43, tried to stop a group of teens from assaulting and robbing a 14-year-old boy.
Lawrence said: “By the time I got to him the girl had pounded [Cowart] in the head.
“And then all of a sudden out of nowhere 12 teenagers had him down on the ground kicking him in the head, stomping him in the chest,” he said.
Saying he tried to intervene, Lawrence went on: “I tried to get him up and they stole his iPad and iPhone and all of that.”
The 15-year-old has been charged with felony assault and robbery in connection with the incident.
It took place on a Green Line train between Fort Totten and Shaw-Howard University at around 1.15am on 22 November 2015.
“The juvenile respondent was arrested without incident this morning by the Metro Transit Police Department Warrant Squad at her residence in Northeast D.C. on a juvenile custody order that was issued yesterday,” a statement from police reads.
“Police allege that the juvenile respondent is the person responsible for first mocking, and then violently kicking and punching an adult male victim who attempted to intervene on behalf of the 14-year-old,” the statement continues.
Although the incident is not named as a hate crime, Lawrence says one of the attackers used an anti-gay slur.
Cowart attended Howard University Hospital after the attack. The couple say they plan to press charges.
The law in Washington DC means the identity of the teenager will not be revealed, and court proceedings will be closed.
