Nov 7, 2009 9:50 am US/Eastern
Two Teens That Taunted Homeless Man Given Bail
**Please Note That The Videos Have Objectionable Language
POMPANO BEACH (CBS4) ―
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The YouTube video shows the man dressed in green being taunted and beaten.
YouTube
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Brandon Edwards
Broward Sheriff's Office/CBS
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Nicholas Bakum
Broward Sheriff's Office/CBS
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William Sleight
Broward Sheriff's Office/CBS
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Bradley Wunderlich
Broward Sheriff's Office/CBS
Friday afternoon, Broward County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Siegel set the bail of two teens accused of roughing up a homeless man at $16 thousand each, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. 19-year-old Nicholas Bakum and 19-year-old William Sleight were granted bail and are two of the four suspects charged for tormenting the man on video. The video was eventually uploaded to YouTube under the title of "Beating Up A Crackhead."
The alleged crime took place in Pompano Beach in 2008. 21-year-old Bradley Wunderlich and 19-year-old Brandon Edwards are also charged for their parts in the incident. Wunderlich was already in jail at the BSO North Broward Bureau since September 29. BSO said an anonymous tip led them to Wunderlich.
Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti said in October he wants to see Florida add the homeless as a protected group under the state's hate crime law.
The video was posted to YouTube and detectives uncovered it during an investigation into the fatal beating of Craig Cohen in Ft. Lauderdale last April. In the video, three teens are seen pushing over the victim, cornering him, smacking him in the head and face and carrying him down a street before dropping him.
The teens are heard laughing at the man as he asks them to leave him alone. The incident occurred at 501 S. Ocean Drive. In one section of the video, one of the teens asks the man with the camera phone, "You got this?" referring to the video. The man with the cell phone replies, "I got everything, bro."
The victim was not hurt in the attack and did not report it to police.
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