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By Danielle A. Alvarez, Sun Sentinel

6:35 p.m. EDT, April 26, 2011
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A Davie man is facing hate crime charges after an attack on an openly gay man that police said was the bloody conclusion to an ongoing dispute fueled by the victim's sexual orientation.

John William Koontz, 62, was ordered held without bail Tuesday.

He was arrested Monday after police said he walked up to Miguel "Angel" Rodriguez, 46, outside a CVS in the 5200 block of Southwest 34th Street in Davie and repeatedly punched and kicked him while shouting insults.

"I'm gay, that's what I am … and now he uses that against me," Rodriguez said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Koontz was charged with aggravated battery and a hate crime. To label an assault a hate crime, investigators and prosecutors must prove the victim was targeted because of race, color, sexual orientation or other personal factors. A hate-crime designation is added to other criminal charges, elevates them to felony status and may mean stiffer penalties under Florida law.
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According to a Davie police complaint affidavit, Rodriguez works as a security guard for Everglades Mobile Home Park, where both men live.

About 5:30 p.m Monday, Koontz approached Rodriguez as he was entering the pharmacy and made an anti-gay remark to him, the affidavit said.

Koontz then hit Rodriguez in the face, causing him to fall to the ground, according to the affidavit. Koontz then straddled Rodriguez, punched him and kicked him in the face, the Davie police document says.

Rodriguez said he pepper sprayed Koontz, but was unable to stop him. When Koontz punched him, his eyeglasses were smashed, he said.

"I thought he was going to kill me," he said.

Two CVS employees were able to separate the men and called police. Rescuers took Rodriguez to Memorial Hospital Pembroke, where he was treated and released Monday night.

Koontz was arrested and taken to the Broward County Main Jail where police found a small key in his pocket. He also was charged with obstructing justice through unlawful possession of a concealed handcuff key, a third-degree felony, and violating probation from a recent marijuana possession charge.

Rodriguez's father, Jack Gilmer, was inside the CVS picking up medicine when the attack happened.

"I heard Miguel screaming my name and when I got to the front he was laying on the floor with his face all beat up, bleeding," Gilmer said Wednesday. "It was definitely a hate crime."

Rodriguez said the feud between the two men began about three weeks ago when Rodriguez, who guards the mobile home community's entrance, called police after he said Koontz was harassing him and visitors near the gate. He said Koontz has since continued to verbally harass him.

Speaking almost 24 hours after the attack, Rodriguez said his face remained swollen and throbbing. Though physically and emotionally drained, he said he was keeping a positive spirit.

"I'm scared … but at least I'm alive," he said.

daalvarez@tribune.com or 954-356-4543