BUSHWICK — Two men have been indicted on hate crime charges for a brutal attack on a transgender woman in Bushwick that left her with permanent brain injuries, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office said.
Kimball Hartman, 28, was beaten on Bushwick Avenue near Halsey Street on Oct. 12 by a group of four people using filled garbage bags and a Plexiglass two-by-four, knocking her unconscious and causing trauma to the brain, the DA said.
The group yelled homophobic phrases like “we don’t want f****ts on our block" at Hartman and her gay friend during the assault, prosecutors added.
Mashawn Sonds, 25, of Brownsville, was hit with a nine-charge indictment for swinging the Plexiglass at Hartman, including first-degree assault as a hate crime, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing as a hate crime.
Police arrested him on February 3 after an investigation. Sonds, who has pleaded not guilty, was held on $250,000 bail and will return to court March 25.
He has two prior arrests, police said, including one for robbery and one for driving without a license.
Sonds' attorney, Greg Zenon, said his client maintains his innocence in the case, noting that Wednesday was the first Sonds heard of the charges.
Tyquan Eversley, 17, of East New York, was also indicted for striking Hartman with a filled garbage bag and assaulting her while Sonds and two others yelled slurs like "f****t" and "tranny," the DA said.
He also allegedly kneed and kicked Hartman in the head after she fell to the ground from being hit with a garbage bag, according to a criminal complaint.
He was hit with a slew of charges, including assault as a hate crime and menacing.
Eversley's bail is set at $17,500 and he will be arraigned on February 18, prosecutors said. His attorney did not immediately return request for comment.
He is also being tried for a robbery on Oct. 11, in which he and two others are accused of taking an iPhone out of someone's hand in Bed-Stuy, court records show.
Both Sonds and Eversley face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Hartman had to have surgery on her skull, forcing doctors to put staples in her left temple and causing slurred speech, loss of memory and bruising to the face, according to the criminal complaint.
Weeks afterward, she still suffered "substantial pain, dizziness and headaches," the complaint added.
The attack on Hartman was one of several anti-LGBT hate crimes in Brooklyn last fall.
Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson, who visited Bushwick after the incidents, said in a statement that he "was distressed that such hate crimes occurred in Brooklyn, one of the most diverse counties in the nation.
“This was a cowardly, unprovoked and exceptionally vicious attack on an innocent person who was targeted because of her appearance," Thompson added. "I must emphasize that hate crimes in any form, be they an attack on a person’s race, gender, sexuality or ethnicity, won’t be tolerated.”
