SANDY, Utah, Aug. 16, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Hayden Perry Stowell, a friend of a juvenile charged after a hate-crime assault against a gay youth in Sandy, now faces his own charges.
Stowell, 19, was caught on an Aug. 13 surveillance video removing LGBTQ pride flags from the victim’s residence and damaging the yard. The video was recorded at about 5 a.m. that day, which was last Saturday.
Stowell was charged on suspicion of:
- Retaliation against a victim/witness, a third-degree felony
- Theft, a class B misdemeanor
- Criminal mischief, a third-degree felony
- Disorderly conduct, an infraction
“There is substantial evidence to support the charge, and through clear and convincing evidence, (the suspect) would constitute a substantial danger to another individual or to the community, or is likely to flee the jurisdiction of the court if released on bail,” says Stowell’s probable cause statement, filed by an officer of the Sandy City Police Department.
“The suspect has several cases pending involving the victim, who is a member of the LGBTQ community.”
Original crime
The original victim was allegedly punched by another juvenile on July 31 when he was standing in the driveway of his residence, hugging his boyfriend, also a juvenile.
One or more cars driving by stopped, and a juvenile suspect got out of a vehicle and punched the boy who was standing in his own driveway, cursing at him and using anti-gay slurs.
Stowell’s probable cause statement says he was involved in the July 31 attack, but does not detail his part in the incident. A search of court records does not show pending charges against him in the original assault. Stowell was ordered held without bail.
The juvenile arrested in the July assault was recorded on a cellphone. The video was shared hours later by Project Rainbow.
“A gay young man was hugging his boyfriend in front of his home,” the Twitter post says. “The young men in this Infiniti stopped and the one person punched the kid in the face while calling him a ‘fa**ot.’”
The assault suspect was arrested the same day, Sgt. Greg Moffitt, Sandy City Police, told Gephardt Daily at the time. The suspect’s identity has not been shared due to his juvenile status.
“Our officers were able to locate that suspect and he was taken into custody. He was arrested and the charges, because of the nature of this case, we are looking at it as a hate crime.
“So the root charge was a simple assault. But because of the hate crime, it will be enhanced to a class A misdemeanor assault. And so the charges will be sent to the juvenile court for screening.”
