Post by StonerStudent on Nov 8, 2005 15:50:37 GMT -5
Lucas Dawson had just returned from an audition for "American Idol," and planned to tell his friends all about his experience on Oct. 29.
But while walking to the bus stop to catch a ride downtown, around 10:30 that Saturday evening, Dawson ran into four teenagers less than one block from his East Mount Airy home.
"They started calling him 'faggot,' saying 'You're gay,' stuff like that," said David Dawson, Lucas' stepfather.
Lucas Dawson crossed the street, near Upsal and Musgrave, to avoid trouble, but he later told his family, the group threw a basketball at him, rushed him, and started pummeling him.
"One of them punched him in the mouth," David Dawson said. "They knocked him to the ground. They kicked him. They stomped him. They called him faggot."
Dawson, 21, of Upsal Street near Magnolia, managed to get to his feet, and he pulled out a small pocket knife. He waved it at the crowd a few times, David Dawson said, trying to push them back.
Then, he ran.
Gerald Knight, 17, allegedly followed and then reached out to grab Dawson, who still had the knife in his hand.
During the ensuing struggle, Dawson plunged the knife into Knight's chest.
Knight, of Hortter Street near Chew Avenue, died at Einstein Medical Center less than an hour later, police said.
Dawson, an aspiring singer and performer, faces a preliminary hearing today on voluntary manslaughter charges in the slaying. He plans to plead not guilty, his family said.
"There is nothing else to plead here," said Lisa Dawson, Lucas' mother. "Four guys attacked him... You're going to do whatever you have to to protect yourself."
Lucas Dawson spent last week at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility because his family has been unable to raise the $30,000 for his bail.
"Because somebody died, I can understand he might have to do some jail time," David Dawson said. "But at the same time, let the truth be told about what really happened."
David Dawson believes his stepson is the victim of a hate crime.
"That's always been my biggest fear," Lisa Dawson said. "That someone would attack him just because he is gay."
Knight's family declined to comment.
The day before the attack, Lucas Dawson had performed in front of the American Idol judges. He was cut after the third round.
"He and Randy (Jackson) got into a little argument over something," Lisa Dawson said. "But it was all just show business."
Lucas, who temps as a clerical worker, dreams of performing, his mother said. After attending Lincoln High School and graduating through the Job Corps program, he attended modelling school in Philadelphia.
He told his family he was gay nearly four years ago.
On the night after the audition, he regaled his family with tales of his brush with fame during dinner, then changed into a pair of slim-fitting jeans, a T-shirt and leather jacket, and dashed off to meet friends.
Within 15 minutes, his mother said, Lucas, bloodied and frantic, had returned to the house through the back door.
"I think I cut one of them," Lucas told his family.
One of the other teens told him, "Now we're going to have to shoot you."
Lisa Dawson said that even if the charges are dropped, she fears for her son's safety.
"I don't feel like he can come back home," she said. "There are three people out there who already made a threat."
Their East Mount Airy neighborhood, where they have lived for seven years, is full of long-time residents, many of whom know each other, some of whom are related.
"Its pretty much a good neighborhood," David Dawson said. "You hear about stuff happening but not around here."
Since word of the killing spread, Lisa Dawson said that she has received numerous calls of support.
"Lucas is a really positive person," she said. "No one believes that he did this."
Friends have been stopping by and donating money for his defense. One friend said she didn't have any cash, but she would bake pies to sell as fund-raisers.
Meanwhile, Lucas, who faces 30 years in prison if convicted, is waiting.
"He's scared to death," said David Dawson. "But he's more hurt by the fact that he killed somebody."
"Kharma is something," he added. "Because if they had just let him go on his way and get on that bus, none of this would have happened."
But while walking to the bus stop to catch a ride downtown, around 10:30 that Saturday evening, Dawson ran into four teenagers less than one block from his East Mount Airy home.
"They started calling him 'faggot,' saying 'You're gay,' stuff like that," said David Dawson, Lucas' stepfather.
Lucas Dawson crossed the street, near Upsal and Musgrave, to avoid trouble, but he later told his family, the group threw a basketball at him, rushed him, and started pummeling him.
"One of them punched him in the mouth," David Dawson said. "They knocked him to the ground. They kicked him. They stomped him. They called him faggot."
Dawson, 21, of Upsal Street near Magnolia, managed to get to his feet, and he pulled out a small pocket knife. He waved it at the crowd a few times, David Dawson said, trying to push them back.
Then, he ran.
Gerald Knight, 17, allegedly followed and then reached out to grab Dawson, who still had the knife in his hand.
During the ensuing struggle, Dawson plunged the knife into Knight's chest.
Knight, of Hortter Street near Chew Avenue, died at Einstein Medical Center less than an hour later, police said.
Dawson, an aspiring singer and performer, faces a preliminary hearing today on voluntary manslaughter charges in the slaying. He plans to plead not guilty, his family said.
"There is nothing else to plead here," said Lisa Dawson, Lucas' mother. "Four guys attacked him... You're going to do whatever you have to to protect yourself."
Lucas Dawson spent last week at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility because his family has been unable to raise the $30,000 for his bail.
"Because somebody died, I can understand he might have to do some jail time," David Dawson said. "But at the same time, let the truth be told about what really happened."
David Dawson believes his stepson is the victim of a hate crime.
"That's always been my biggest fear," Lisa Dawson said. "That someone would attack him just because he is gay."
Knight's family declined to comment.
The day before the attack, Lucas Dawson had performed in front of the American Idol judges. He was cut after the third round.
"He and Randy (Jackson) got into a little argument over something," Lisa Dawson said. "But it was all just show business."
Lucas, who temps as a clerical worker, dreams of performing, his mother said. After attending Lincoln High School and graduating through the Job Corps program, he attended modelling school in Philadelphia.
He told his family he was gay nearly four years ago.
On the night after the audition, he regaled his family with tales of his brush with fame during dinner, then changed into a pair of slim-fitting jeans, a T-shirt and leather jacket, and dashed off to meet friends.
Within 15 minutes, his mother said, Lucas, bloodied and frantic, had returned to the house through the back door.
"I think I cut one of them," Lucas told his family.
One of the other teens told him, "Now we're going to have to shoot you."
Lisa Dawson said that even if the charges are dropped, she fears for her son's safety.
"I don't feel like he can come back home," she said. "There are three people out there who already made a threat."
Their East Mount Airy neighborhood, where they have lived for seven years, is full of long-time residents, many of whom know each other, some of whom are related.
"Its pretty much a good neighborhood," David Dawson said. "You hear about stuff happening but not around here."
Since word of the killing spread, Lisa Dawson said that she has received numerous calls of support.
"Lucas is a really positive person," she said. "No one believes that he did this."
Friends have been stopping by and donating money for his defense. One friend said she didn't have any cash, but she would bake pies to sell as fund-raisers.
Meanwhile, Lucas, who faces 30 years in prison if convicted, is waiting.
"He's scared to death," said David Dawson. "But he's more hurt by the fact that he killed somebody."
"Kharma is something," he added. "Because if they had just let him go on his way and get on that bus, none of this would have happened."
