Vancouver police are now reaching beyond British Columbia’s borders in their investigation of the gaybashing that occurred in Yaletown on Nov 8.
“We’re still trying to piece some things together,” says Det Tim Houchen, of the Vancouver Police Department’s (VPD) hate crimes unit.
The VPD has filed the paperwork necessary to speak with “a few people” outside of its jurisdiction, Houchen explains.
In December, an eyewitness to the crime told Xtra West that the license plate numbers of the car in which Chad Wilkinson’s alleged assailants left the scene were red, and that she had reported the full plate number to police. Investigators have used this and other information provided by the witness to identify a suspect who is believed to be currently residing out-of-province.
The early morning beating at the corner of Davie and Richards Sts left Wilkinson, 32, with numerous head and facial injuries. He alleges that four men called him a faggot, circled him, and repeatedly punched and kicked him until he was eventually able to fend them off.
The reported use of anti-gay slurs by Wilkinson’s assailants led Houchen to officially classify the attack as a hate-motivated offence.
Although the primary witness reported that another small group of men approached Wilkinson’s attackers during the assault at this time no additional witnesses have come forward to police.
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