Arraignment scheduled for alleged hate crime beating

Davis resident Clayton Garzon will be arraigned on Friday, June 7, in response to his alleged hate crime beating of Davis resident Mikey Partida on March 10, according to The Davis Enterprise.

The pre-trial procedure have dragged out for the past few months, since Garzon was arrested on March 14. Garzon’s bail was set at $500,000 during a March 27 hearing.

Garzon will hear the charges laid against him, all of which are felonies: battery with assault, serious bodily injury and threats to commit serious bodily injury. All three charges received a hate crime enhancement, as well as an enhancement for felony committed while released on bail. Garzon’s charges received hate crime enhancements due to his alleged use of homophobic slurs during his alleged attack on Partida.

Partida’s injuries from the March 10 incident included: a fractured skull, cranial bleeding, facial fracture, extensive bruising and a two-inch piece of wood extracted from behind one eye, from when Garzon allegedly used a fence post to impale Partida.

Garzon’s lawyers have since defended him by saying that while he did use homophobic slurs, the words were used in a general derogatory sense, and did not indicate that Garzon targeted Partida, who is gay, for his sexuality.