Four arrested in attack on gay man

"October 11, 2006, 7:06 AM EDT

Four young men were arrested for luring a gay man to a remote location with an online promise of a sexual encounter, then attempting to rob him -- an incident that left the victim in critical condition after he ran into traffic to escape the attack, a police commander said Wednesday.

The four, who range in age from 16 to 20, were arrested late Tuesday, according to a police commander who spoke on condition of anonymity because the charges were still pending. Police had said they were investigating the Sunday attack as a possible bias incident, but it remained unclear whether the four would be charged with a bias crime.

Police sources said it appears the men had arranged, through e-mail, to meet the victim in a popular gay hangout, under the guise of having sex with him, but actually planned to rob him. They had told him to bring money in case they went to a hotel room, the sources said.

The victim, Michael Sandy, 28, a designer for Ikea from East Williamsburg, is still in critical condition and on a respirator at Brookdale Hospital." http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/am-bias1012,0,7527656,print.story?coll=ny-nycnews-headlines