March 18, 2005

New friend, met in a bar, forces man out of his car

by Eric Resnick

Cleveland--A gay man was punched and robbed of his car in a west side neighborhood after he left a gay bar with another man on March 11.

Cleveland police are looking for a silver 2000 Toyota Camry that was stolen from George Peters, 38, of Cleveland Heights, after he left Bounce around 3:30 am. The car�s license plate number is DCF 3710.

Peters said he went to the club alone that Friday night, and met a man he knew as �Derrick� with whom he �hit it off.�

Police describe �Derrick� as a black man in his mid 20s, approximately 5�10� and weighing 180 lbs. Peters added that he is attractive and has a goatee.

Peters said Derrick asked him for a ride home to the east side, and he agreed.

�I was getting a migraine headache and had two or three drinks,� said Peters, �so I asked him to drive. I was not comfortable driving, feeling like that.�

Peters said they drove west on Detroit Avenue from Bounce, which is at West 28th St., and he assumed Derrick was going to turn onto the Shoreway entrance at West 45th St. and head east.

Instead, they continued west on Detroit to West 58th, where Derrick turned north. Once on 58th, Peters said his new friend began asking for money.

�He saw things were not going to go his way, so he sucker-punched me a couple of times,� said Peters. �Then he opened my door and forced me out of the car.�

Peters said Derrick then turned the car around, went back to Detroit Ave. and disappeared, while Peters called the police.

According to Peters, detectives will be able to view security video inside the club to get a photograph of Derrick, which he will compare to mug shots in order to attempt to identify Derrick.

At press time, the car has not been recovered.

Anyone with information or who sees the car is asked to contact Cleveland police.

Previous Story------------------------------------ Next Story

List of Stories in this Week's Issue