Brandon McNamara, a 25-year-old former EY employee who was arrested in September for allegedly beating up two gay men outside a Brooklyn bar, faces up to 15 years in the slammer after he was indicted on hate crime charges last week.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said McNamara was arraigned on Nov. 14 and charged with “second-degree assault as a hate crime, third-degree menacing as a hate crime, second-degree aggravated harassment, and other related offenses.” Bail was continued at $15,000.
In a statement, Gonzalez said:
“This defendant allegedly assaulted an innocent couple simply because he perceived they were gay. Crimes that target individuals because of their sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or other identity are a threat to everything we stand for here in Brooklyn. The defendant has now been indicted and we intend to seek justice for the victims.”
McNamara, who was a senior consultant with EY at the time of his arrest, was suspended by the firm pending the investigation. A statement from EY following his arrest said his alleged conduct “is abhorrent to all EY stands for including our culture of diversity and inclusion.”
An EY spokesperson told Going Concern this afternoon that McNamara is no longer employed by the firm.
At a little before 1 a.m. on Sept. 23, the two gay men, ages 29 and 30, left the Metropolitan, a popular gay bar in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, minding their own business. Prosecutors say McNamara, who was with several other people, followed and caught up with the two men. That’s when he allegedly starting acting like a piece of shit.
He allegedly called them a homophobic slur. It is alleged that the defendant then struck the first victim, causing him to fall to the ground and lose consciousness. The second victim was grabbed and thrown to the ground, also losing consciousness.
The New York Daily News reported that McNamara “allegedly called his two victims ‘faggots’ before pouncing and punching the 30-year-old man in the face, cops said. He then turned to his 29-year-old victim, slammed the man into a tree, then onto the ground.”
A bystander called 911 after seeing the two men unconscious on the ground, prosecutors said. The 30-year-old victim suffered a fractured and dislocated left shoulder, and the 29-year-old victim suffered a broken finger. Both men were treated at Woodhull Hospital.
McNamara, who lives in Queens, quickly left the scene, but a witness took a cellphone photo of him after the attack, which was distributed by police, the New York Daily News reported.
Three days later, McNamara surrendered to the New York Police Department.
McNamara is due back in court on Jan. 16, 2019.
