NEW YORK (WPIX)—
Thousands of supporters poured into the West Village Sunday to attend a prayer vigil for Puerto Rican hate crime victim, Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado.It was held at Pier 46 on Christopher Street.
The 19-year-old's body was found Friday decapitated, dismembered and partially burned, off a road in central Puerto Rico. Members of the lesbian and gay community are urging authorities to treat the murder as a hate crime.
Juan A. Martinez Matos, 26, was arrested late Monday and charged with first-degree murder. He was also charged with three weapons violations and one count of hiding evidence, police said.
Martinez Matos reportedly confessed to police, saying he picked up Meracado in an area of Puerto Rico well-known for prostitution, thinking he was a woman. When he realized the openly gay teen was actually a man, he attacked him. It's expected that his attorney will go for the so-called "gay panic" defense at trial. Matos also claims after realizing Mercado's gender, he flashed back to an incident in prison when he was sexually assaulted.
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who's openly gay, attended the vigil. "The attack against any American because of their sexual orientation or gender identity is unacceptable, and will be prosecuted to the highest and fullest extent of the law," she said.
Lopez was well-known for his volunteer activism on behalf of HIV prevention and gay rights. Vigils in his remembrance have been held all over the nation, including Puerto Rico, Washington D.C. and San Francisco.
