It’s now a case of he said, he said.
A homeless thug copped to brutally pounding a young gay man in front of a West Village McDonald’s, but told investigators the beat down shouldn’t be labeled a hate crime because he is gay too, police said.
Investigators learned about the odd twist after arresting Anthony Bray, 21, in Brooklyn late Friday night for viciously pummeling Damian Furtch, 26, outside of the fast food joint on West 3rd Street near Sixth Avenue last Sunday, cops said.
The culprit told detectives he threw punches because his victim “disrespected” him, a source said.
Bray has not been charged with a hate crime – only misdemeanor assault.
Furtch, who posted startling images of his black-and-blue face on Facebook after the 4:30 a.m. assault, claimed his attacker shouted gay epithets as he slugged him.
“The fact that the attacker in custody alleges he is gay does not change the fact that he shouted anti gay slurs while attacking me,” Furtch said in a statement today.
“I look forward to the criminal trial where all of the accurate details will come out.”
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force will continue to look into Furtch’s allegations and see if any additional charges are warranted, police said.
“It may come down to just two guys having a fistfight,” said one police source.
The way cops tell it, Furtch entered the McDonald’s to grab grub and had an exchange of words with Bray, who was sitting with some pals. After getting his food at the counter, Furtch apparently went to walk out but not before him and Bray jawed at one another again.
Once Furtch was outside, Bray– whose criminal record includes busts for marijuana, graffiti and robbery – pounced and landed a vicious series of punches that left the victim with two black eyes. He and a cohort then fled.
In recent days, a tipster identified Bray as the assailant and cops reached out to his family in an effort to find the wanted man, police sources said.
Bray’s family contacted him, and he then contacted detectives to orchestrate his surrender in Bushwick, sources added.
A second suspect is still being sought and the investigation is ongoing, police said.
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