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Miami-Area Family Charged With Hate Crime In August Kidnapping, Beating Of Gay Man
Four members of the Makarenko Family — Yehven, Inna, Oleh and Vladyslav — have been charged with kidnapping and beating a gay man in Pompano Beach last August.
Four members of a Florida family have been arrested and charged with a hate crime.
Yevhen Makarenko, 43, Inna Makarenko, 44, and Oleh Makarenko, 21, were arrested on March 10 are all charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and battery as hate crimes, according to Broward County Sheriff's Office records. Yevhen and Inna Makarenko are also subject to immigration holds. Vladyslav Makarenko, 25, was transferred to Broward County on Monday after being arrested in Alabama, according to a press release from the Broward County State Attorney's Office, and is being held on attempted murder, kidnapping and battery charges.
The Oleh and Vladyslav Makarenko are brothers. They are the sons of the Yevhen and Inna Makarenko, the Miami Herald reported.
According to the state attorney's office, the family's alleged victim is a 31-year-old gay man who has invoked a state law to protect his privacy. He is a resident of Pompano Beach, which is 35 miles up the coast from Miami; Yevhen, Inna and Oleh Makarenko also share a home in the city, according to their arrest warrants.
Documents filed in the case on Wednesday, allege that the family members entered an apartment less than five miles from their home "unlawfully" on Aug. 6, 2001 and beat the man in question. The state attorney's office said in their release that the alleged beating resulted in the victim's permanent blindness and other severe injuries; the arrest warrants allege that the Makarenkos used their hands, feet and an unknown object to strike the man, nearly killing him, and that they held the victim against his will at the apartment.
In accordance with Florida law, publicly available documents do not state what connection, if any, the family had to the victim in the case, but the state attorney alleges he was targeted because of his sexual orientation.
Yevhen, Inna and Oleh Makarenko have all pleaded not guilty and obtained private counsel. They are currently being held without bond, though Inna Makarenko has a hearing to request discretionary bond on April 25. Vladyslav Makarenko has not yet entered a plea to the charges brought against him on Monday.
