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Nov 19, 2009 3:49 pm US/Eastern
Fourth Man Charged In Deadly "Peter Pan" Robbery
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
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Brandon Edwards
Broward Sheriff's Office
A fourth man has now been charged in the deadly attack on an Oakland Park man as he walked home from a diner.
The Broward Sheriff's Office says Brandon Edwards, 19, was part of a group of four men beat and robbed 47-year-old Craig Cohen last April and then robbed a second man minutes later. Edwards has been locked up in Broward's Main Jail since October 26, when he was arrested for beating and harassing a homeless man and videotaping the attack.
Sheriff's investigators say Cohen was walking home from the Peter Pan Diner on Oakland Park Boulevard around 1:20 a.m. with his leftovers in hand when four men attacked him. The severely beat him, stomped his head into the ground and left him bleeding on the sidewalk. They also stole his cell phone.
About five minutes later, David Villanova, 27, was walking to a convenience store after leaving a local bar when he was attacked and beaten. His attackers kicked his head and fractured his skull before stealing his wallet.
"In the weeks following the attacks, there was some speculation as to whether they had been fueled by hate and perpetrated because the victims were both gay men. However, detectives have determined that the sexual orientation of the victims didn't factor in when their attackers were planning or committing the crimes," said Commander Rick Wierzbicki of BSO's Hate Crimes Task Force. "Cohen and Villanova were innocent victims, chosen simply because they were alone and defenseless."
BSO detectives say the night of the attacks Edwards, along with 18-year-old Chad Olah, 21-year-old Victor Gonzalez and 25-year-old Pargu Leandro had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana at a house near the Peter Pan Diner. They allegedly were talking about how much fun it would be to rob and beat someone up. They then left the house and stumbled onto Cohen.
Nearly three weeks after the attacks, a tip to Crime Stoppers led investigators to the men who committed the attacks.
On November 5th, Edwards was indicted by a grand jury on charges of felony first-degree murder. He also faces a strong-armed robbery charge in connection with the robbery of Villanova.
Cohen died October 7th in a hospice facility; he never regained consciousness after the beating.
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