Jul 23, 2004   | COMMENTS     

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A center for the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues during last season pleaded guilty July 16 to conspiring to have his agent murdered, authorities said, according to Reuters. Mike Danton, 23, will be sentenced Oct. 22 in U.S. District Court, Reuters reported. Court records show that Danton made calls in the spring to his girlfriend and asked her to find someone to kill a “hit man” who he said was pursuing him about a debt, Reuters reported. Danton allegedly offered to pay $10,000 and planned to have the killing look like a burglary gone wrong, according to Reuters. The intended target was David Frost, Danton’s agent, roommate and mentor, who Danton may have feared would tell Blues managers about his drug and alcohol use and break off their relationship, court documents show, Reuters reported. Authorities said the plot originated after an altercation between Danton and Frost, according to media reports. Some reports indicate the two were lovers, but others reported the strong bond between the two is limited to Frost’s managing and advising Danton.

Third man arrested in Seattle gay bashing
SEATTLE (AP) — A third young man who was being sought in an attack on a man outside a gay bar last month has turned himself in to police in Bellingham, authorities said. The 17-year-old youth was arrested late July 14, a day after Seattle police working with the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Vadim Samusenko, 20, and David Kravchenko, 19, also from the Bellingham area. The victim, Micah Painter, 23, a personal trainer and landscaper, said he was both pleased and shaken to learn of the first two arrests. The attack shortly after 1:30 a.m. June 27 rattled the city’s gay residents, many of whom held a rally last weekend and heard Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske pledge to bring the perpetrators to justice. Painter said he was leaving Timberline Spirits when three men in a passing truck hurled insults and one asked whether he was gay. When Painter replied that he was, one of the men allegedly attacked him with a broken liquor bottle and the other two joined in.

Pa. man pleads no contest to molesting five boys, but guilty to raping five girls
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A teenager pleaded no contest last week to molesting five boys — but pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting five girls — because he did not want to acknowledge his homosexual acts, a prosecutor said. “Psychologically, he didn’t want to admit to having sex with boys,” Assistant District Attorney Gina Smith said. A judge accepted the pleas from Lamar Zamichieli, 19, of the Frankford section of Philadelphia and found him guilty on all counts. Zamichieli grabbed his victims, who were between 10 and 15 years old, as they walked in several city neighborhoods. A girl attacked after school on her 12th birthday helped police break the case, remembering that the rapist used a condom. Police found the condom in a nearby trash can and gathered DNA evidence that linked Zamichieli to the crime. The first attack occurred Feb. 23, 2003; Zamichieli was arrested the following month, on March 27.

Mich. judge hears gay men’s suit over police use of force
SAUGATUCK, Mich. — The attorney representing two gay men alleges that a police officer would have ignored the sexually suggestive comments and whistles from the pair had they been women, the Grand Rapids Press reported. Instead, the two were arrested and pleaded no contest after a 2002 confrontation in downtown Saugatuck, according to the Press. “Had this been a group of women making comments ... I would imagine the officer wouldn’t have come up to them and talked about an apology,” Christine Yared told the Press last week. The attorney for the Saugatuck-Douglas Police Department, however, said the two men, Mark W. Miller and Christian Freeman, directed suggestive comments and swore at the officer and became disorderly during the incident, the Press reported. In their lawsuit, the two allege use of excessive force, false arrest and constitutional violations, according to the Press. U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell said last week he will issue a written opinion on the defense request to dismiss the suit, the Press reported.

Reggae singer sought in connection with attack on gay Jamaican men
LONDON — Amnesty International reported this week that Buju Banton, a Jamaican dancehall artist whose lyrics incite the murder of gay men and lesbians, is wanted regarding an attack on four Jamaican gay men, Gay.com UK reported. The performer was identified by witnesses as one in a gang ...