Coronado

Three Marines pleaded not guilty Tuesday in San Diego Municipal Court to charges of attempted murder and committing a hate crime against a gay man who was severely beaten July 31 in a Coronado alley.

Steven Fair, 26; David Bell, 20, and Jeffrey Davis, 20, were also arraigned on robbery and assault charges stemming from the attack on Samuel Eanker, 34.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Luis Aragon asked that bail be set at $500,000 for all three Marines, who served in Operation Desert Shield but left the Gulf before war broke out.

Aragon told Judge Joan Weber that the victim had brain surgery and suffered internal damage, including the loss of his spleen and injuries to his kidneys, in the attack. It is alleged that the Marines attacked Eanker because of his sexual orientation and deprived him of his civil rights.

The Marines had served as security guards aboard the aircraft carrier Independence, which was in Hawaii when arrest warrants were issued Aug. 27.