A 19-year-old Decatur teen has been held on $1 million bail due to an alleged anti-gay attack Thursday. He faces preliminary charges of hate crime, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, aggravated unlawful restraint, and home invasion.
"You know why I have to do this. ... You're gay. ... You're evil ... I'm going to kill you," a Decatur police affidavit quoted Ethan Dickerson, telling the victim multiple times in response to questions about the reason for the attack.
The preliminary charges are still subject to review by the state's attorney's office. According to the affidavit, a police officer was dispatched to the 1100 block of Delray Court at approximately 5:30 pm Thursday, responding to a report of someone breaking out a residence window.
Upon arrival, the officer saw the broken window. The responding officer found the door locked but heard someone inside desperately screaming for help. The officer then broke down the door and saw a man on the kitchen floor with multiple lacerations to his head and covered in a "significant" amount of blood. His alleged attacker, who immediately dropped to his knees, was still in the home also covered in blood, police said.
The police reportedly found a pipe wrench on the ground and strands of duct tape on a chair and the floor, all covered in blood. The 60-year-old victim was lying in bed when he heard the glass on his front window shatter, he got out of his bed and found Dickerson approaching him. According to the victim’s narration, Dickerson began hitting him in the head, face and body with the pipe wrench. Dickerson then duct-taped his wrists and mouth shut, he forced the victim into a chair in the kitchen, wherein he was also duct-taped to the chair.
The affidavit stated that the victim was able to free himself when Dickerson went to the front porch to get a cake. When he came back inside, the two wrestled over the wrench until Dickerson got behind the victim, put the wrench across his neck and choked him. The struggle continued until the responding officer forcibly kicked the door and arrested Dickerson.
The teenager appeared before a Macon County judge on Friday. He is currently being held on a $1 million bond. The victim was taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries requiring multiple stitches.
