Neighborhood watchers promote awareness of so-called 'bias' crimes
HAYWARD — More than five years since the brutal murder of a Newark transgender teen, community leaders remain determined to confront the thinking they say turned two seemingly ordinary men into cold-blooded murderers.
Hate-crime prevention will be Topic A of this month's Hayward's Neighborhood Alert — a gathering of the 100 or so Neighborhood Watch block captains to discuss public safety issues.
Police Sgt. Jason Martinez will address the Neighborhood Alert at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Southland mall Community Room.
Martinez will promote awareness of bias-motivated crimes and provide information on how to prevent such occurrences, said City Councilman Bill Quirk, who also is a block captain.
State law provides for enhanced sentencing for anyone convicted of crimes deemed to be bias-motivated — also known as hate crimes.
Quirk acknowledged the 2002 murder of 17-year-old Gwen Araujo was a wake-up call, noting that the apparent motive reflected biases that are too often accepted.
Michael Magidson of Fremont and Jose Merel of Newark were 25 and 26 at the time of their January 2006 convictions.
"They were ordinary kids," Quirk said. "That's what's so scary about this. If it could happen to these kids, then it could happen to anybody."
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