Four Arrested in W. Hollywood Assault

In what authorities believe was intended to be a gay-bashing incident, a man was chased, beaten and repeatedly hit by a car after assailants called him a homosexual slur during an attack in West Hollywood early Sunday morning, deputies said.

Jim Hill, 23, of Lancaster, suffered only bruises to his elbows and a cheek and cuts on a foot and thigh in the 3 a.m. incident on Santa Monica Boulevard near Plummer Park. He was treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and released. Authorities did not know whether Hill is gay.

“Without a doubt, he is very lucky to be alive,” said Deputy Larry Mead, Sheriff’s Department spokesman. “He could very well have been killed.” Hill could not be reached for comment.

Jerry Chapa and Jesus Betancourt, both of Montebello, and Hector Camacho of Los Angeles, all 19, were booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and civil rights violations, Mead said. Each was being held in lieu of $150,000 bail.

The fourth suspect, a 15-year-old from East Los Angeles, was booked on the same charges and held without bail at Sylmar Juvenile Hall, Mead said.

Deputies were uncertain of a motive, but speculated that the group might have been looking to rough up a homosexual in a city known for its outspoken gay population.

Mead said the four approached Hill, swore at him and threatened to kill him. Hill initially ignored his attackers’ taunts as they approached in their gold 1987 Honda, Mead said. He said they drove off but soon returned, pulled alongside Hill, got out of the car and began beating him.

As Hill tried to run away, Chapa allegedly got back in the car and sped toward Hill, knocking him onto the hood. Chapa then allegedly braked the car abruptly, throwing Hill off.

When the car hit Hill again, he clung to the hood as it drove about half a block along Santa Monica Boulevard. The driver braked again, throwing Hill off for a second time. He ran into the nearby Yukon Mining Company restaurant and called authorities.

“He was shaking. He was scared,” one Yukon employee recalled. “He said, ‘There’s a guy out there who wants to beat me up.’ ”

Officials said the men fled, but returned to the restaurant parking lot about two hours later, where witnesses spotted them. Sheriff’s deputies arrested them a short time later, Mead said.

“It seemed like they were going after somebody (they believed to be) gay, not a specific person,” said West Hollywood sheriff’s Lt. John O’Brien. “Whether it was a gang initiation or something else, who knows. (Hill) was probably in the wrong place at the wrong time.”