Mayor: Reward for gay beating suspects up to $25K

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By Marcus K. Garner

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has upped the ante again in an effort to capture two remaining fugitives accused of the videotaped beating of a gay Atlanta man.

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Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Brandon White, 20, spoke at a Feb. 8 news conference about the videotaped ambush and beating he endured.

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In an interview Tuesday morning on a local TV station, Reed said he has increased the reward by $10,000, to $25,000.

“Every time we have raised the reward amount, we have gotten more tips that have been very helpful in locating these individuals,” Reed said. “I’m not going to tolerate this kind of … senseless violence.”

Brandon White was attacked by three men on Feb. 4 in front of a neighborhood market at 1029 McDaniel Street in southwest Atlanta.

The three men shouted anti-gay slurs as they kicked, punched and pummeled with an abandoned tire their 20-year-old victim. Then, they posted video footage of the incident on the Internet.

The video went viral and, along with the added incentive of the ever-increasing Crime Stoppers reward money, enabled police to identify the three men, and arrest one -- Christopher Cain, 18. Police have not released the names of the two other alleged assailants.

Federal authorities are investigating the attack as a possible hate crime.

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