Men accused of West Hollywood attack on gay actor face more charges

Saturday February 01, 2003

LOS ANGELES (AP) Three men accused of the September baseball bat attack on a gay actor in West Hollywood pleaded innocent Friday to an additional and more serious charge of aggravated mayhem, authorities said.

Larry Walker, 29; his brother, Vincent Dotson, 18; and Torwin Sessions, 19, will stand trial on felony charges of assault, robbery and conspiracy. Dotson and Sessions are also charged with unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle.

The charge of aggravated mayhem mean the three men could face life in prison without parole, the District Attorney's office said.

Dotson and Walker will return to court on March 6 for a pretrial hearing. Sessions was due in court Feb. 6.

Prosecutors said the aggravated mayhem charge was based on evidence and testimony by the victim, Treve Broudy, 34, during a preliminary hearing this month. Broudy said he was hugging Edward Ulett on a street when a car approached and two men, armed with a bat, began attacking him.

Broudy was in a coma after the attack and was hospitalized for about 10 weeks. He testified that he has lost half of his vision since the attack and has trouble hearing.

Ulett testified the men also came after him. He identified Sessions as the person swinging the bat.

The case became a rallying point in West Hollywood, a town known for its acceptance of gays, after Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley decided not to file hate crime charges. Prosecutors have said investigators determined the motive for the attack was robbery and not the victim's sexual orientation.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)