Three suspects charged over 'heinous' videotaped beating of na**ked man over a $20 debt

Three suspects charged over 'heinous' videotaped beating of na**ked man over a $20 debt

Three men have been arrested in connection with a horrific video showing a Newark, New Jersey, 21-year-old being stripped and beaten with a belt because of a $20 debt.

Ahmad Holt, 22, Raheem Clark, 31, and 23-year-old Jamaar Gray have been charged with robbery and aggravated assault after the August 2012 attack, which Mayor Cory Booker declared a 'human tragedy' at a press conference today.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE 



According to police, Holt administered the beating, using a belt provided by Clark, while Gray was the alleged cameraman.

The haunting 2 1/2-minute video, shot on a hot summer night, starts with the young man being ordered to strip naked as he is berated by a group of thugs.


One person squirts his body with water while another demands money but when he refuses to hand over the cash the beating starts.


As the naked 21-year-old, who hasn't been named, is lashed repeatedly, those surrounding him laugh above the crack of a belt hitting his skin.


City Police Director Samuel DeMaio said all three suspects have gang affiliations and criminal histories.


Impassioned, Booker labelled the violence 'heinous, vicious, cruel' at today's briefing.


'This is the kind of violence and brutality that we've seen rear its ugly head in Newark, around the nation, around the globe, that allows one human being to assault the dignity, to demean and to viciously attack another,' he said.


'And I believe, for one, that this is unacceptable behavior. I know the standards in the community are the same.'


DeMaio said the video didn't come to the attention of police until February 8. It is unclear when it was posted on the Internet, and has since been removed from YouTube but garnered some 40,000 views beforehand.


Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said her office's cybercrimes unit is investigating the upload of the video.


The victim, now 21, 'reluctantly' cooperated with police to identify the suspects, DeMaio said. He has since moved out of the neighborhood where the beating took place out of fear of retaliation.


The victim's father apparently owed someone $20, prompting the beating, and the group took $10 from the young man, DeMaio said.


He suffered welts and abrasions from the lashing but did not require hospitalization, DeMaio said.


The video incensed community members and law enforcement in this city, which has long grappled with violent crime and recorded 88 murders last year.


'It shows there is a brutal culture in this community,' Booker said. 'It's not the city's culture. But it is a subculture of violence and crime that we have to address. It's not just here in Newark.'


Booker and DeMaio said they were disturbed that no one reported the beating back in August.


'When you witness something like this, stand up and speak up,' Booker said. 'That's what allows violence in the city to go on.'


Holt was already in custody in Trenton on unrelated charges, DeMaio said. Clark was arrested and Gray turned himself in with an attorney on Tuesday night, DeMaio said.


The 25-year-old girlfriend of one of the suspects also was arrested for heroin possession.


Police launched an investigation into the brutal beating last week after the footage was posted online.


On Tuesday, DeMaio, clearly moved, vowed to catch the thugs behind the 'sickening' video.


'You don't know how bad I want to see the kid who did that taken into custody,' DeMaio told NewJersey.Com.


In the disturbing video, the group continues to laugh at the victim as he is being whipped by a belt wielding member of the gang and they demand that the boy tell the camera it's a 'dog eat dog world.'


The video sparked widespread outrage and got the back up of Newark City Council President Anibal Ramos.


'The perpetrator as well as those who stood idly by laughing and videotaping this act of savage brutality should be brought to justice,' he said on Tuesday.


DeMaio said their investigations led them to a Twitter account of a potential person of interest but it is unclear if that was one of those arrested today.


Dozens of furious tweets linking to the video identify someone owning the Twitter handles @440BoyRiqBubz - an account which has been deactivated.


'To see him stripped down naked and taken advantage of and abused like that, it was sickening to me,' DeMaio said on Tuesday.


'I pictured somebody doing that to my son … the people that did that need to be brought to justice for sure.'


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