Long Beach police investigate assaults on gay men

Police in Long Beach are investigating three incidents in the last two weeks in which gay men were assaulted in the city’s Broadway Corridor, a neighborhood known for its tight-knit gay and lesbian community.

The suspect in one case has been charged with a hate crime while the others are still under investigation, said police spokesman Rico Fernandez.

“We don’t believe any of these three are connected in any way,” Fernandez said. “We just think it’s a coincidence that three incidents happened relatively close to each other.”

The first incident was reported just before 6 p.m. on July 24 near a popular gay bar on Falcon Avenue and Broadway.

In that case, Fernandez said, a man allegedly approached another man on the street and asked if he was gay. When the second man said yes, he was attacked and beaten.

A suspect, Jorge Jhovanoy Ibarrias, 21, was arrested and charged with felony battery in addition to a hate crime. He has pleaded not guilty, said Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.