Lambert Borgardt
A Travis County grand jury indicted a Lambert Borgardt yesterday for the attack of two gay men during Austin’s LGBT Pride weekend in September.
The grand jury didn’t indict Borgardt, 28, on a hate crime enhancement because there isn’t audio of what was said during the attack caught on surveillance video, prosecutor Andrea Austin told KVUE. Instead, he was indicted for aggravated assault and battery, a second-degree felony.
Andrew Oppleman was ordering pizza at Roppolo’s Pizza on Sept. 21 with friend Nick Soret when Borgardt began asking Soret if he was looking at him. He became enraged and attacked Soret, breaking his nose. Oppleman stepped in and was also attacked. He lost five teeth and had a fractured jaw from the attack.
The video helped police identify Borgardt, who later turned himself in, claiming self-defense for the attack.
Soret told KVUE that he believed the attack was a hate crime because they are gay and Borgardt kept asking him what he was looking at during Pride festivities, as if he thought they were checking him out.
If Borgardt’s charge was enhanced because of the hate crime element, he would have faced a first-degree felony conviction. If convicted, he now faces two to 20 years in jail.
Watch KVUE’s report below.
