Cops close to ‘netting’ mob attack goon
in Charlottesville, Va., CHARLOTTESVILLE police on Tuesday hunted for an out-of-state man identified as one of the white supremacists involved in the savage beating of a badly outnumbered black man.
Investigators came up with a name for one of the multiple suspects in the hate-fueled Saturday night attack inside a parking garage adjoining the Virginia city’s police station.
“We have identified someone,” police Sgt. Shawn Bayles confirmed about the Tuesday
IANFRANK search for the attackers of Deandre Harris. “Now it’s just a question of finding him, getting an arrest warrant and bringing him back here.
“It’s just a matter of going down the chain.”
According to Bayles, the manhunt was complicated because the suspect is not a Virginia resident — and apparently traveled there to join the alt-right agitators.
Despite widespread internet video footage of the beating, not a single suspect was in custody three days after the bloody assault.
Police declined to identify the wanted man, but the suspect was widely called out on social media as Michael Ramos — one of a group of white supremacists videotaped beating the helpless Harris.
According to online reports, Ramos unsuccessfully tried to delete Facebook admissions of his part in the one-sided assault. ALBANY — In the wake of the deadly hate march in Charlottesville, Va., Gov. Cuomo said Tuesday he will introduce legislation designed to prevent a similar situation in New York.
The bill being drafted would add to the state hate crimes law the new offenses of rioting and inciting to riot when the actions target protected classes. The penalties for engaging in rioting that’s deemed a hate crime would carry tougher felony sanctions under the plan.
Harris, 20, an aspiring rapper, was left with blood pouring down his face from a head wound (photo inset) and a gash over his left eye after the gang began kicking and beating him with flag poles while spewing racial invective.
The victim needed eight staples to close the gash, and he also suffered a broken wrist, a chipped tooth and a busted lip before he could stumble to safety. The entire grotesque assault was captured in various videos, with witness Chuck Modiano — a freelancer who writes for the Daily News — filming parts of the vicious beatdown.
Modiano said he pulled still photos from his video, and they appeared to match up with pictures of Ramos.
The suspect is wearing a white sleeveless Tshirt, a red baseball cap — and wielding some type of homemade weapon wrapped around his right hand, the video showed.
“The cops have not approached me at all about the video,” said Modiano. “Nobody’s contacted me, no law enforcement.”
Modiano said he went running to the scene of the racist attack when he heard a loud noise inside the parking garage where the attackers went after Harris.
“It became pretty obvious pretty quickly that the kid is getting beaten,” said Modiano. “As I got closer, it looked to me like three people beating a young man with sticks.”
The badly bleeding Harris managed to find refuge in a garage stairwell, where he cowered with friends amid the chaos.
Cuomo is dubbing the proposed change the “Charlottesville provisions” and said it is designed to “reaffirm that while peaceful demonstrations are allowed, New York will never tolerate advocacy or the incitement of imminent violence against protected classes within our communities.”
The state’s current hate crime law covers those targeted for a crime based on their race, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation.