Fox 8
February 8, 2015
A man was attacked and robbed outside a grocery store and it was caught on camera. Investigators said it was a hate crime.
The I-Team obtained video of the September 25, 2014 attack that happened outside of a store on Woodland in Cleveland.
The victim, Thomas McGill, 51, was punched, knocked to the ground, and kicked in the face and head, before one of the suspects reached inside his pocket and took his money.
McGill suffered head and back injuries but said even worse, he is now living in fear.
“I am paranoid to go anywhere,” McGill told the I-Team Tuesday afternoon. “I am paranoid to even walk in this building.”
McGill said he went to the store at 10 p.m. and when he was trying to pay for his items, one suspect started to take his money. He said he didn’t want to cause trouble so he kept his mouth shut, but then things got worse.
“I just went outside the store and next thing I know I was in Charity Hospital,” McGill said.
Police Union President Steve Loomis, who worked on the case, said the attack was very brutal and he believes money was not the main motivation behind the attack.
“In this case, it was completely racially motivated,” Loomis said. “And what are you going to get out of the guy, just beat him up to beat him up or possibly kill him in the parking lot, for what?”
The I-Team has learned that three of the men, Ronald Mango Jr., Montez Williams, and Steafon Hudson, have been indicted on several charges including aggravated robbery, felonious assault, and ethnic intimidation.
A jury trial is scheduled for next week for the three men. Police are still searching for a fourth suspect.