Bail denied for
accused attacker in Sandy case

Bail was denied on Wednesday for Anthony Fortunato, one of the three remaining defendants facing trial in the October death of gay man Michael Sandy. Fortunato's family had raised $1.3 million in the event that bail would be granted, but Judge Jill Konviser-Levine of the New York State supreme court in Brooklyn decided not to allow Fortunato to go.

"We are pleased that Judge Konviser-Levine has today ensured that Fortunato will indeed be present to face the consequences of his and his accomplices' vile plan, and we can now turn our attention to our primary interest--seeing justice for Michael, justice for his family, justice for his friends, and justice for this community," Clarence Patton, executive director for New York's Anti-Violence Project, said in a statement.

Fortunato and the other defendants are accused of luring Sandy to a remote location in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn and, once there, attacking and attempting to rob him. As Sandy attempted to escape the attack, he ran onto the Belt Parkway, where he was struck by a vehicle. The driver fled the scene and has yet to come forward.

On October 14, one day after his 29th birthday, Sandy was removed from life support and died with family and friends at his bedside. (The Advocate)