Wednesday, March 17, 2010
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Not guilty pleas for alleged hate crime suspects
RIVERHEAD - Two Mastic men were arraigned in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead on an indictment charging them with second degree assault as a hate crime and second degree gang assault.
Nashon Minter and Justin Higgins pleaded not guilty to the charges. Both men were arrested March 2 in William Floyd High School for assaulting a 19 year student in the hallway. The victim said the defendants made anti-gay slurs during the assault.
District Attorney Thomas Spota said a third suspect will surrender at the courthouse in Riverhead on Thursday, March 18, for arraignment before Judge Gary Weber.
Minter, 19, and Higgins, 21, are being held in the county jail in lieu of $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond.
Second degree assault as a hate crime and second degree gang assault are class C felonies punishable by a maximum three and one-half to 15 years in prison.