Three people have been charged with ethnic intimidation and other crimes in connection with an assault of an Oakmont resident.
Richard Blake, 25, and Patrick McAndrew, 24, both of Oakmont, and Alexander Tomer, 27, of New Kensington, were charged with simple assault, stalking, ethnic intimidation, criminal conspiracy and three counts of harassment.
They are accused of making racial and homophobic slurs and beating up a Black man in the 500 block of Cedar Way on July 24.
The accuser had flagged down officers around 3:30 a.m. that morning to report the incident, according to the criminal complaint.
The accuser said he encountered a group of three men as he walked home from a friend’s house. After arriving home and realizing he had forgotten items at his friend’s place, he attempted to walk back and encountered the men again.
The complaint states the men followed the accuser allegedly shouting slurs and other comments and then assaulted him.
The victim was transported by a relative to UPMC St. Margaret hospital near Aspinwall with several injuries along with bruising and swelling, the complaint read.
Police said audio and video evidence of the assault was obtained via surveillance cameras along Delaware Avenue.
It shows three men following the victim from Third Street onto Delaware Avenue before two of them quickly approach him along Cedar Way.
Police Chief Michael Ford said McAndrew and Blake were taken into custody and Tomer turned himself in to authorities Friday.
Online court documents indicate a preliminary hearing was scheduled for the suspects Sept. 1 before District Judge Linda Zucco in Plum.
