June 26, 2014 By Michael Florio
The police are NOT treating the brutal killing of a 56-year-old man in Woodside Saturday as a hate crime.
Roberto Martires, a father of two and limo driver, was punched in the face in front of 69-04 Roosevelt Ave at approximately 12:10 am Saturday, before dying at Elmhurst Hospital from his injuries on Tuesday.
Despite reports that he was asked whether he was Filipino by the suspect before being struck, the police do not believe the attack was racially motivated.
The police are still looking to question a man described as a Hispanic male, in his early-to-mid 20’s, last seen wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and a dark colored baseball cap.
A memorial featuring flowers, candles and a flag of the Philippines, has been erected near where Martires, a Woodside resident, was attacked.
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20 Comments
Hate crime is a BIAS-motivated crime. Anyone who targets a certain group based on ethnicity( white, blacks, hispanics, asians etc ), sexual orientation ( lesbian, gay, trans etc ) , physical appearance, religion etc. can be criminalized. People, please be informed. Some of your comments are just ridiculous!
Hipsta, 56 is old. And don’t you ever, ever doubt the Fonz again. Whoa!
Meant van Bramer lol note he and Danny dromm are big on their own personal agenda
Our precinct screws up again looks like hate crime to me btw will jimmy vs. Bramer have another street naming. ? Great photo up in the works
wat me no hte whitey we just wanna breakder bones
such gutless wussie cops today…..OHbahhma and Holder are the two most Black racist idiots to ever run America..
how do you die from a punch in the face? jeez!
Yes, if you are black or Hispanic you’re never considered racist.
Hey Fonz – he was 56. Not an old man. The punk probably sucker punched him. Hope he spends the rest of his life in prison.
How awful, this saddens me so much
the man that was killed was coming out of a restaurant where he was eating dinner —
Only hate crime if white guy the perp cause Hispanics and blacks never hate never ever
I’m sure by now he has:
– no mustache
– no beard
– no baseball hat
– no white shirt
– no dark jeans
Now we gotta hope someone in his community turns him in – good luck with that.
Unbelievable. “Are you Filipino? Uh…I don’t care, it’s not like it’s relevant at all. But are you?”
It seems to me, if the suspect questioned the vics ehnic I.D. prior to the assault, this is by definition a “hate crime”.
People that beat up old men are nerds.
Is the Fizz Lounge still open at that location? Were these folks there before the incident? Seems it was/is located at 6904 Roosevelt and appears to be some type of club/bar. Haven’t seen anything reported so maybe it is closed now? This video claims to be from Fizz Lounge in 2010:
http://shelf3d.com/Videos/N3kSbYzVTaQ
It’s not a hate crime because the victim isn’t white and the criminal isn’t black. or is it the other way around?
How? the suspect wasnt white….so no hate crime
Of course it’s not a hate crime that only applies to when whites do this . I personally think it was an angry census worker
How the hell do they know anything about the killer’s motivation considering they haven’t caught him or even know his name yet?