Man Arrested For Brutal Hate Crime Attack Of Davis Man

DAVIS (CBS13) - Police have arrested a suspect in the brutal hate crime beating of a gay man in Davis on Sunday.

Clayton Garzon, 19, of Davis was arrested Thursday for beating Mikey Partida unconscious last Sunday, say Davis police.

At around 3:50 a.m. on Sunday, Partida was walking in a residential area in Davis when he was attacked. Witnesses say before and after the attack, Garzon used derogatory words towards Partida, who is openly gay.

Garzon was booked into the Yolo County Jail on charges of assault causing great bodily injury, committing a hate crime, assault with a deadly weapon, stalking, committing a felony while on release from custody, and inflicting bodily injury during the commission of a felony. However, he posted the $75,000 bail within hours of being booked.

"It keeps repeating in my mind and it probably won't stop for a while," said Melanie Bravo, Partida's cousin.

Bravo will never forget the horrifying images after opening the door early Sunday and finding her cousin slumped over in a puddle of blood, barely able to move.

She says her neighbor from across the street was standing there, bragging about beating Partida and yelling homophobic slurs.

"I've never seen anything like that in my life; it was disturbing to say the least," said Channon Cooper, Bravo's boyfriend.

Partida's family is furious the man accused of leaving him with several skull fractures and a swollen-shut eye is already out on $75,000 bail.

"He's probably watching us right now," said Bravo. "It scares me to know that we live next to somebody that could harm somebody."

Garzon already faces charges in connection with another violent crime. He was arrested after a stabbing in Solano County last September, which injured four people. He posted bail that time, too.

Neighbors say Garzon is the son of a prominent doctor in town. His family wouldn't comment on the hate crime charges, but one man came out of Garzon's home with a simple request.

"Please leave us alone," he said.

It was the same thing Partida says he told his attacker before being beaten unconscious on his cousin's front lawn.

According to Partida, there may have been other men behind the attack.