GRESHAM, Ore. — Police in Gresham, Ore., said they have arrested five young people for beating and robbing a man they lured into a park under the pretense that he would be meeting another man for sex.
Justin Sims (Booking photo)
Police said they received a report early Friday of masked people with guns punching and kicking a man at Vance Park in Gresham.
The robbers fled, but were later arrested and charged with robbery, intimidation and assault. Four are juveniles, three boys and a girl. A fifth was identified as 19-year-old Justin Simms of Gresham.
The victim Adam Salnardi, a 24-year-old Clackamas man, said his wallet and cellphone were stolen, and he suffered only minor injuries.
Salnardi later told KATU-TV that he was lured to the park through a dating website under the ruse that he would be meeting a homeless man who needed his help.
They had planned to meet the man at midnight at the park.
“We were just talking and he told me wanted to hang out, that he was homeless, I thought maybe I’d be able to help him and I just go there to meet him,” Salnardi said.
Police called it “a targeted attack based on his sexual orientation.”
Police believe the same group may have attacked other gay men using the same ruse, possibly also at Vance Park or in the surrounding area, but that victims were unwilling to report them.
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CSS! all!
I hate ignorance and stupidity and human beings with the mindset of teenage biggotts…
Shared.
Those 5 guys seriously deserve to have their Asses Beat, and then Robbed, AND THAT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING!
sick bastards
An eye for an eye…….
As sad as it is, it’s a good warning; meeting strangers on the internet for sex can be a bad idea, even if the end result really isn’t your fault at all.
it was sad to see on the news here in Portland, Oregon
First of all, it is *SICK* that people would do this to anyone!!
Second, to anyone who uses “dating” sites to meet potential “dates”, more and more of these incidents are occurring. TAKE CARE!! Always make sure you let someone know where you are going. Don’t take chances!!
4 of them were KIDS for fracks sake!!!!the hell has this world come to when CHILDREN are attacking people for no other reason than hes attracted to the same sex?!?!?!?!?!?!this is getting incredibly ridiculous!!!!!!!!
thats so fuqed up
Hope they get put away for a long time!
Throw those homophobics in jail! Sick puppies!
Horrible what happened, but why would a homeless man post on a dating website?
same town where they wouldnt make a cake for a lesbian couple
Disappointing. Hate crime. Throw them in prison.
they need to start reporting so the idiots will think twice about attacking someone because they are gay….if enough were reported they would have to charge them with multiple hate crimes….publicity is sometimes the only way to get anything done
I noticed that this is the second time in as many years that this same man has been a victim of gay hate crime. Though he seems to have a few felony convictions under his own belt.
Is anyone noticing that this is the second time this same man has made hate crime accusations?
This is the same town that Mellisa’s bakery refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple and duff from ace of cakes is now making and delivering them a cake cross country for free.
If you’re recently homeless it’s very likely you’d still have a cellphone with service.
Then again he would’ve had other connections, ya?
They’ll learn all about gay sex in jail. Lol
IGNORANT people
let the punishment fit the crime..beat the shit outta the little miscreants…
i wish they were in new york and started with me!
sad.
I just want to live in the world where five guys lure a man to a park and just have sex with him.
what the hell is the matter with people?
Closet cases
christ is judgein them for that
Sad :(
sad to hear about this but its good that there’s 5 people like that off the streets.
Gresham, Oregon has quite a few backwards hicks! That is also where that cake shop refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple because it was against their religious beliefs.
Well, Gresham is literally RIGHT next to Portland, which makes it apparent, that no matter how progressive the majority may be, there will always be bad apples in every bunch. :(
What horrid people to have this.
Awww shit! This place is full of cock gobblers.
OK…seriously? The most significant part of this story is that the victim was gay?
Wrong.
@savoree – the most significant part of the story may be that a group of kids are targeting gay men and committing hate crimes.
C’mon guy, what the hell were u thinking.