{"id":99956,"date":"2025-12-18T18:30:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T18:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/99956\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T18:30:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T18:30:08","slug":"sacramento-man-still-in-coma-six-weeks-after-suspected-anti-lgbtq-hate-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/99956\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento man still in coma six weeks after suspected anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Sacramento <\/a>man’s family and the local LGBTQ+ community are still fighting for justice six weeks after he was rendered comatose during an attack that’s been designated as an anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alvin Prasad, 57, was leaving an LGBTQ+ club with his daughter and a friend on Halloween night when a man began shouting at them from his car. Prasad\u2019s daughter, Andrea, told ABC10 <\/a>at the time that the man insulted her father’s flamboyant costume “in a very rude, aggressive way,” and when Prasad turned around to ask why he spoke to them like that, the man allegedly punched him.<\/p>\n

The punch was directly to Prasad’s forehead, which caused him to fall back and hit his head again on the concrete sidewalk. Prasad has been in a coma since with permanent damage on both sides of his brain.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll never be the same,\u201d Andrea said. \u201cHe can\u2019t express himself, can\u2019t go out dancing. It\u2019s just … it\u2019s not the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sean Wesley Payton Jr., 24, was arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on November 17 on charges related to assault, hate crime, and resisting arrest. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, FOX40 <\/a>reported, and will remain in custody until his proceedings on January 30, as he is ineligible for bail.<\/p>\n

The same night, the Sacramento LGBT Community Center held a community conversation forum <\/a>on safety in the Lavender Heights neighborhood, with guest speakers CEO David Heitstuma, city council member Phil Pluckebaum, and a Sacramento Police Department LGBTQ Liaison officer. Heitstuma called the attack on Prasad \u201cincredibly tragic,\u201d likening it to the national epidemics of mass shootings and rising anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a reminder that we have a lot of work to do to ensure that there is greater cultural affirmation, acceptance and a sense of welcomeness in our world,\u201d Heitstuma said, via The Sacramento <\/a>Bee<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes remain high despite a drop in violent crime<\/a> overall in the U.S., according to an August report<\/a> from the Federal Bureau of Investigation<\/a>, with 2,278 single-bias hate crimes based on sexual orientation and 527 based on gender identity.<\/p>\n

Doug Marques, 71, a friend of Prasad, said at the forum that another friend of his has been assaulted since the attack on Prasad. He emphasized that \u201cWe are people just like everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not deserve to be treated that way,” Marques said. “We do not need to be harassed because of who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Advocate: Sacramento man still in coma six weeks after suspected anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime<\/a><\/p>\n

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