The early morning hours of Oct. 19, 2003 will always haunt Douglas Pastor. As he drove from his home in Hillcrest to the Eagle, a local gay bar in North Park, he had no idea his life would be changed forever.

Pastor was severely beaten by local musician Raymond Mawhinney, also known as Ray Argyle, after Mawhinney discovered Pastor sitting in a car belonging to his friend Stephanie Sullivan on Ray Street in North Park. A report filed by San Diego detective Donald Williams cites a witness who saw Mawhinney pull Pastor out of the car and repeatedly kick him in the face.

According to the initial police report and the preliminary hearing’s transcripts, two people witnessed the beating. One of the witnesses, Jeff Brawley, said he saw Pastor “get thumped by at least two guys” and also saw one person pull Pastor from the car. The other witness, Ryan Cawley, also stated in the police report he saw a person pull Pastor out from the car and then Cawley told the person that the police were on their way.

Pastor’s civil litigation attorney, Dan Martorella, filed a subpoena for both witnesses to be questioned in depositions for a civil lawsuit, but efforts to locate either witness have been unsuccessful. According to Martorella, a subpoena was also filed for Sullivan, but she has since disappeared.

Pastor had no recollection of the incident when police initially questioned him in the hospital. A year after the attack, he was able to recall details of the evening through flashbacks and therapy sessions. He believes Mawhinney called him “fag” and “faggot” while the beating was taking place.

After exiting the bar and walking back to his car, Pastor, who is HIV positive and on a variety of different medications, said he felt disoriented and ill due to side effects resulting from blood thinner medications he was taking at the time and the alcohol he had consumed that evening. After leaving the Eagle, he mistakenly got into a Toyota Tercel owned by Sullivan, which looked similar to his Ford Probe.

Pastor suffered various injuries as a result of the attack and had to be hospitalized twice for a total of 10 days. His nose and jaw were broken and the right side of his cheekbone had been crushed. His right eye was swollen shut and the entire right side of his face was concaved.

Pastor had reconstructive surgery on his right cheek, which included the insertion of two titanium plates, on Oct. 23, 2003, undergoing a four-hour operation in attempts to reconstruct his face. He had follow-up surgery in November 2004, and said he has since suffered numerous complications in the past year due to the attack.

Mawhinney claimed the attack on Pastor was a misunderstanding, and that he was reacting in self-defense. He also claimed Pastor rifled through the glove compartment and grabbed something from the front seat.

“I think it was a horrible misunderstanding, and I was reacting in terms of fear for my life. I truly believed that he had a weapon, and I truly was defending myself,” he said in a court transcript.

Mawhinney also denies the attack was a hate crime, and said he was unaware of Pastor’s sexual orientation until at least a month after the incident.

“If you look at the records of the criminal case, there was no basis whatsoever for there being any sort of hate crime allegation. It was definitely not motivated by sexuality. That’s completely false,” he said.

Mawhinney had no comment concerning his bankruptcy filing.

Mawhinney did not serve time in jail. After the preliminary hearing took place March 18 of last year, Mawhinney was arraigned on two felony charges April 2. The District Attorney’s Office made a plea agreement on June 3. Mawhinney pleaded guilty to aggravated battery, which is a misdemeanor, although he was initially charged with two felony counts – assault and battery with serious bodily injury.

Martorella explained aggravated battery is a “felony wobbler,” meaning it can sway either way as a misdemeanor or a felony but is still a serious crime and an intentional act.

Letters of support from Mawhinney’s family, friends and colleagues were submitted to Judge Revak before he delivered his final sentencing.

Although the San Diego County Probation Department recommended a 90-day prison sentence, Judge Revak sentenced Mawhinney to three years probation, various court fines, and held him responsible for any of Pastor’s medical and psychological therapy expenses. Mawhinney was also ordered to be available for the civil case and any depositions related to it.

On the same day as the sentencing, Martorella served Mawhinney a civil complaint, which named damages for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligence and a violation of civil code sections 51 and 52, which cite hate crimes.

“All I can say is, when the day is done, what appears to be happening is a person was severely beaten who can never work again, who will have ongoing psychological problems from this beating,” Martorella said. “The perpetrator [Mawhinney] will never have served a day in jail and will have gotten out of paying any civil liabilities, and goes on with his life and his prominent family.”

A civil trial date was originally set for June 12 of this year, but on March 1 Mawhinney, with the assistance of his attorney, Timothy Sullivan, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A notice of stay was granted, which essentially stopped the civil lawsuit proceedings and any depositions against Mawhinney.

On March 3 Mawhinney was to take part in a deposition relating to the civil trial. Due to the bankruptcy filing, Martorella had to cancel all other depositions he had arranged. According to Martorella, when a person files for bankruptcy they have to list all their assets and liabilities. Mawhinney listed $200,000 as a potential judgment against him relating to the civil trial.

“Of course this case is worth more than that. With the way loans are today, virtually anybody out there with some degree of credit or a cosigner can get a loan for $100 or $200,000. That’s what I believe is doing the right thing. What this family has decided to do is get around this,” Martorella said.

Martorella went on to explain that the U.S. Senate is currently revising the acceptable criteria for declaring personal bankruptcy due to this flaw in the bankruptcy code.

Sullivan said Mawhinney’s bankruptcy filing was necessary due to other debts and having no assets. “It’s not a strategy. If one would look at his debts you’ll see he needs to file for bankruptcy. He doesn’t have any assets,” he said.

Martorella disagrees, and noted the length of time between the filing of the civil complaint and the filing of bankruptcy. “Why wait all these months? This thing [the civil complaint] was filed in August and he files just days before his deposition.”

April 6 is the first meeting of the creditors in which Pastor has retained a bankruptcy lawyer to represent him. His bankruptcy lawyer would need to file a motion of relief from stay and/or a motion to dismiss, and convince the judge and bankruptcy trustee that the civil lawsuit against Mawhinney is warranted.

If you have any information pertaining to this case, or to find out more, visit www.gaylesbiantimes.com for a link to the Justice For Douglas website.