Aug 22, 2008  |  By: AMY CAVANAUGH  | COMMENTS     

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.”