|
AMY CAVANAUGH
Friday, August 22, 2008
Two
members
of
a
Baltimore-area
gang
have
been
charged
with
killing
a
fellow
gang
member
they
believed
was
gay.
Steven
Hollis,
18,
of
Randallstown,
and
Juan
Flythe,
17,
of
West
Baltimore
were
charged
Aug.
14
with
first-degree
murder
following
the
May
death
of
Steven
Parrish,
18,
of
Randallstown.
Authorities
said
Hollis
and
Flythe
are
members
of
the
Bloods
gang.
According
to
charging
documents,
Hollis
and
Flythe
found
text
messages
on
Parrish’s
cell
phone
that
led
them
to
believe
that
Parrish
was
gay.
The
documents
say
that
the
defendants
were
concerned
that
a
gay
member
would
make
the
gang
seem
weak.
An
autopsy
reportedly
showed
that
Parrish
died
as
a
result
of
blunt-force
and
stabbing
injuries.
He
also
suffered
a
stab
wound
to
the
chest
and
50
superficial
cuts.
“Like
most
hate
crimes,
the
graphically
violent
details
of
this
incident
are
a
jarring
reminder
to
us
all
that
we
live
in
a
culture
where
being
perceived
as
LGBT
for
some
people
is
a
crime
above
all
others,”
said
Dan
Furmansky,
executive
director
of
Equality
Maryland.
The
Baltimore
Sun
reported
that
on
the
day
before
Parris’s
death,
several
gang
members
met
at
Parrish’s
house,
where
they
conferred
about
finding
“gay”
text
messages
on
Parrish’s
phone.
The
Sun
reported
police
wrote
in
charging
documents
that
as
a
result
of
the
meeting,
gang
members
“decided
that
Steven
Parrish
‘had
to
go.’
There
was
no
date
or
time
discussed
for
the
killing,
but
it
was
made
very
clear
to
all
those
present
that
Parrish
was
going
to
be
killed.”
Elbridge
James,
director
of
the
Maryland
Black
Family
Alliance,
called
Parrish’s
death
tragic.
“We
have
to
stand
together
and
embrace
all
of
the
members
of
our
community,”
he
said
in
a
statement.
“Our
thoughts
and
prayers
are
with
the
Parrish
family
as
they
continue
to
deal
with
the
loss
of
Steven
as
this
story
becomes
public.”
|
 |
