A popular karaoke host at the Dallas gay bar, the Round Up Saloon, is still suffering the severe after-effects of an apparent late night assault.
Oscar Rodriguez remembers leaving after his shift at the Round Up a little after 2 a.m. on April 14.
But the next thing he can remember is waking up in his car. There was no damage to his vehicle, his ID and cash were still on him, but his phone was missing.
Although he was experiencing an excruciating head ache, he was able to drive to his home in the neighborhood of Oak Lawn, but it soon became apparent he needed serious medical attention.
(screen capture)
His roommate drove him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a bleeding brain, a fractured skull, a broken jaw and several missing teeth. Surgery was required to wire his jaw shut and insert metal plates in his head.
Rodriguez’s friend and co-worker, Nikkii Meister, told WFAA News, “The doctors at Parkland (Hospital) said whoever did this intended for him to not walk away from it.”
The 32-year-old karaoke host says he’s still experiencing serious memory loss.
“My memory was all over the place,” he told WFAA. “I couldn’t remember what year it was, I couldn’t remember my birthdate.”
With no memory of the assault, and no leads to go on, police have made no arrests in the case.
Additionally, Rodriguez has no health insurance, so the bills are mounting up quickly. With his jaw wired shut for several more weeks, he can’t work as a karaoke host without being able to talk.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help defray the costs of his medical treatment.
The Dallas Morning News reports that Edward Dominic Thomas, accused of brutally assaulting a transgender woman, was offered $200 to beat her.
The altercation took place between 5 and 6 p.m. on Friday at the Royal Crest Apartments in Dallas, Texas.
The victim, 23-year-old Muhlaysia Booker, told police she accidentally backed into another car in the parking lot of the apartment complex.
The driver of the vehicle, who has been named as a suspect but not yet arrested, admitted to running Booker “off the road to keep her from fleeing.”
The driver reportedly aimed a gun at Booker while demanding $200 for the vehicle damage.
As a crowd gathered, someone reportedly offered Thomas $200 to beat Booker, according to the police affidavit.
Edward Dominic Thomas (mugshot)
Video of Thomas viciously beating Booker went viral after being posted to Facebook.
In the video, Thomas punches the transgender woman over and over. At one point, two other men joined in kicking Booker.
Click below to watch the video. Warning – graphic violence:
The attack ended when several women picked Booker up, and transported her to UT Southwestern Medical Center where she was treated for a concussion, a fractured wrist and bruising.
Booker told the police she heard homophobic slurs during the attack.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Thomas has a record of previous convictions for family violence assault, burglary and unlawful carrying of a weapon.
Thomas was interviewed on Sunday by police, at which time he admitted to the assault but denied “saying anything derogatory.” He was charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. His bail was set at $75,000.
A spokesman for Dallas Police, Lt. Vincent Weddington, told the press authorities are looking into whether hate crime charges may apply to the incident.
Weddington also announced the police anticipate more arrests in the case.
“This case is certainly disturbing,” Weddington said. “The video, I’m sure, shocks the conscience of anyone who looks at this video. … This is being taken very seriously in our department.”
Mayor Mike Rawlings issued a statement about the assault via Twitter which read, “I am extremely angry about what appears to be mob violence against this woman. I am in contact with the chief and she assured me that the Dallas Police Department is fully investigating, including the possibility that this was a hate crime.”
Statement: Chief Hall alerted me this morning to the assault at the Royal Crest Apartments and I have seen a video of what happened. I am extremely angry about what appears to be mob violence against this woman. I am in contact with the chief and she… https://t.co/zlr5TN68Ichttps://t.co/FvO9ALT13j
Jeffrey Cannon & Aaron Lucero (image via Facebook)
A Dallas area wedding venue has been dropped from a major wedding planning site for turning away a gay couple’s business.
Jeffrey Cannon and Aaron Lucero had been dating for three years when they became engaged last summer.
The couple decided they wouldn’t make a rush to the alter as Lucero is a teacher. “We knew we wanted to wait over a year just because of all the stresses of starting the new school year,” Lucero told OUT.
They had opened a couples profile on the popular wedding planning site, The Knot, which helps connect wedding vendors with possible clients.
So, after spending some weeks doing online research for options for their big day, the couple set out last Saturday to check out possible venues.
But at the end of a day of viewing venues, the couple received an email from The Venue at Waterstone, just outside of Dallas. The couple had visited The Venue that day and it was their leading choice for their wedding.
The owner of the wedding company, Lyle Wise, shared with the couple that the business was founded 27 years ago after he had a vision ‘from God.’
Writing that “The design for marriage that we hold to is based upon the design [God] set forth which is a representation of the bride of Christ joined to the groom,” Wise informed Lucero and Cannon that The Venue does not host same-sex weddings.
“Though we do not host LGBTQ weddings or receptions,” added Wise, “we are more than happy to converse and further explain our beliefs and the love God has shown us as well as how He is conforming our lives to himself.”
The couple posted the email to their Twitter account.
Note: nowhere on the website for The Venue does the company state it is a religious-based organization.
Lucero told OUT the email felt like “a punch to the gut.”
Cannon chose to respond to the email sharing with Wise that they, too, grew up with a religious background.
“Our prayer is that God will one day open your hearts as well so that you will be able to welcome all of His children into your beautiful venue,” wrote Cannon.
“Until that day comes however, we would petition you to please make your faith known to the public on your website and with Knot.com so that other same sex couples do not have to go through the same rejection that we have gone through with you,” he added.
After the denial, the couple decided to reach out to other venues and disclose they were gay in an effort to avoid any further awkward situations.
It turns out two of their appointments set for Sunday cancelled on the couple upon receiving the news saying they were not ‘well-equipped’ to host same-sex weddings.
Now, The Knot has a strict policy about discrimination which includes LGBT people.
In a June 2018 Instagram post, The Knot’s CEO Mike Steib, wrote, “When we learn that a vendor has violated these terms of service, we will remove the vendor’s storefront and refund his or her money.”
“We love our couples, and all of our couples deserve a marketplace free of unfair prejudice,” he added.
The parent company for The Knot, XO Group, issued a statement to OUT, which read, “Our company supports everyone’s right to marry the person they love and prohibits any vendor on our site from discriminating against a couple based on their race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.”
OUT has since confirmed that The Venue at Waterstone has been banned from The Knot.
Lucero admits the action by The Knot was appreciated, but he says the website should be more transparent about vendors’ positions on same-sex weddings.
“They have the power to make a difference, not just by kicking companies off their market place, but by using their influence and power to really make a difference,” he told Out.
Apparently, companies can get a badge for their profile on The Knot that shows they welcome same-sex couples, but the website doesn’t offer a way to filter or search for those LGBT-inclusive businesses.
Brittny Drye, editor-in-chief of Love Inc. Magazine, says even though the U.S. is years past the legalization of marriage equality nationwide, there are still many wedding vendors who are not open to working with same-sex couples on their big day.
“While most are, I still receive responses from many who are not, even in progressive cities like New York and San Francisco,” says Drye. “Enough for me to know that we still have a long way to go.”
• Jerry Herman’s classic Broadway musical Hello, Dolly! returns to the Great White Way tonight at the Shubert Theatre in a brand new revival starring a reportedly delicious Bette Midler. I made my Broadway debut in the last revival back in 1995 (I’m on the far left above) when Carol Channing made a spectacular return to the role of “Dolly Levi.” Wishing this new cast all the best for a fantastic run!
• Adam Medrano, the council member who chairs City Hall’s LGBT Task Force, has made LGBT youth homelessness a top priority. His leadership has led to the creation of Outlast Youth, a collaborative effort intent on finding beds, counseling, health care and job training for homeless LGBT youth.
• On the other end of the spectrum in Texas news, Governor Abbott says he wants to sign a transgender “bathroom bill.”
• Turning this year’s Pride Parade in Los Angeles into an anti-Trump march is making it tough to attract the event’s usual sponsors.
• CNN spoke to to two men who describe being detained, beaten and tortured in Chechnya as part of the country’s violent crackdown on homosexuality. Watch below:
This past Saturday night, Dallas resident Derek Whitener was attacked by two masked men as he was leaving a Target store. According to reports, the two men hit Whitener over the head with a pipe, fracturing his skull.
As a result of his injuries, Whitener has undergone brain surgery and continues to be treated in an intensive care unit.
More from the GoFundMe campaign set up to assist with his medical bills:
On Saturday, January 14th, Derek Whitener finished acting and singing in a show at the Firehouse Theatre in Dallas, Texas.
After the show he stopped by Target on his way home to buy groceries. On his way out of Target he was brutally attacked by 2 masked men in the parking lot.
We don’t know who they were or what their motive was at this point. All we know is they beat my friend so badly, that on January 15th he was rushed into surgery to stop the bleeding on his brain.
Before his surgery he was having difficulty forming words – a horrifying thing for someone as smart and quick-witted as Derek. They believe the surgery was a success but won’t sure until the swelling subsides.
He is currently in the ICU, and the overall the recovery will be at least 6-8 weeks. He will be unable to work that entire time.
We’ve set up this GoFundMe to help offset the cost of medical bills and loss of income.
Derek is one of the most creative, passionate, and unique individuals I have ever met in my life. He just accepted a position as the artistic director of the Firehouse Theatre, a community theatre in Dallas. The level of outreach he has done through his artistic endeavors (singing, acting, costuming, etc.) has touched the lives of counless individuals. I know he has inspired me to be a better artist since the day I met him over ten years ago.
Clearly Whitener has a long road ahead of him in terms of recovery and expensive hospital bills.
Anyone who would like to make a donation, no matter how small, can do so via the GoFundMe campaign here.
What we know about the deadly shooting in Dallas last night:
• The shooting broke out late Thursday during what had been a peaceful protest against shootings by police officers that claimed the lives of black men in Minneapolis and Baton Rouge, La. Approximately 800 people were marching through downtown, accompanied by 100 police officers.
• 5 police officers killed; 7 more injured, some critically; 2 civilians also injured.
• According to the Los Angeles Times, the gunman has been identified as 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson. The Times reports he had no known criminal history or ties to terror groups.
• The Pentagon has reported, via CNN, that the shooter had served in the Army Reserves.
• During a stand-off with police, Johnson told police he wanted to kill white people, especially police. Police Chief David Brown told reporters the shooter was upset about police killings of black people.
“The suspect said he was upset about Black Lives Matter. He said he was upset about recent police shootings. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers. The suspect stated he was not affiliated with any groups and he stated that he did this alone.”
• The police negotiated with the shooter for several hours, exchanging more gunfire. The suspect was eventually killed by an explosive device sent in remotely using a police robot.
• Three suspects have been taken into custody but are not cooperating with the police.
Dallas’ LGBT community seems under siege by attackers in the city’s gayborhood of Oak Lawn which has seen over a dozen violent attacks in recent months.
Geoffrey Hubbard reportedly left work at the Tap House bar on Cedar Springs Road to have drinks with friends. Someone struck him in the head about 11:15 p.m. in the 3200 block of Knight Street, police said.
Hubbard rolled under a SUV parked nearby to protect himself.
“He grabbed my pocket and was trying to grab my wallet and I kicked him off and just yelled for help,”he told WFAA from his hospital room at Baylor University Medical Center.
An off-duty police officer happened to be driving in the area and helped Hubbard.
He remained in the ICU this morning with a skull fracture, according to WFAA.
Oak Lawn’s LGBT community was already on edge because of at least 10 attacks on people since September.
In one of the attacks, four men beat a man using a baseball bat after the gay pride parade and then robbed him. Police were investigating that attack as a hate crime because the suspects reportedly made “numerous derogatory statements referencing the victim’s perceived sexual orientation.”
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." – Albert Einstein. In case you missed it, this is why everyone is talking about Dale Hansen.Posted by WFAA-TV on Friday, February 27, 2015
