- Terrance Calhoun
Back in June we told you about a brutal hate-crime attack against a transgender man inside a restroom on the campus of Houston Community College. Lance Reyna, a student-activist who’s both transgender and gay, was washing his hands when his attacker emerged from a stall and put a knife to his throat saying, “Hey queer, I need you to be quiet, cooperate, and give me all your valuables.” Reyna was knocked to the floor and beaten and kicked. His wallet and credit cards were taken. Terrance Calhoun, 22, was later arrested on campus and charged with aggravated robbery in the attack that occurred during Houston’s gay Pride week. Three months later, Calhoun has bonded out of jail as he awaits sentencing.
“I just got informed that my attacker is out of JAIL, someone please calm me down because I’m about to lose it,” Reyna wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
“I feel hopeless right now, plus all the bullying not being taken serious is something I can relate from my younger days in school,” he added Thursday night.
“Just spoke with HPD investigator, threatening text message has been documented. When number was ran it came up with a history,” Reyna wrote Friday morning.
Cristan Williams of the Houston-based Transgender Foundation for America reports on her blog that police don’t plan to pursue hate crime charges against Calhoun:
“Since the attacker won’t fess up to knowing that Lance was part of the GLBT community, he won’t be held accountable under State or Federal hate crime statutes and the case will be prosecuted as a simple assault,” Williams wrote. “As it stands now, he’s out of jail and may get off with a slap on the wrist and some community service because this is his, ‘first time offence’ (according to the DA’s office)!”
UPDATE: We spoke with Reyna on Friday afternoon, and he said Calhoun pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, earlier this month. Calhoun bonded out of jail this week while he awaits sentencing in early November, but Reyna said a prosecutor told him Calhoun could receive probation because it’s his first felony.
Reyna said the FBI investigated the case under the new federal hate crimes law that passed last year. However, because Calhoun wouldn’t admit that he targeted Reyna because he is transgender, the FBI opted not to pursue hate crimes charges. This was despite the fact that Calhoun used an anti-LGBT slur, “queer,” during the attack.
“I’m really disgusted with the way they don’t want to take things seriously,” Reyna said of authorities.
Reyna, who now attends the University of Houston, said Calhoun lives just a few blocks away from the campus, and he’s concerned for his safety. He said he hopes Calhoun is sentenced to at least 2 1/2 years behind bars, to give him a chance to finish school.
“That way, there would be less of a chance of me running into him,” Reyna said. “I had calmed down a little bit, but now I’m back to when it initially happened. I’m reliving the attack, and I don’t want to deal with the hell I went through right after it. It’s too much for me to deal with right now, just knowing he’s out on the streets.”
Reyna said it took him three weeks to recover from a concussion he sustained in the attack, and he’s currently undergoing counseling.
“They say have a lot of systems of post-traumatic stress disorder,” he said. “I have my good days and bad days, buy my level of anxiety just went up a couple of notches with him getting out of jail.”
Reyna said he also received a threatening text message a few days before Calhoun got out, but he is unsure who sent it. He has reported the message to police.
Williams, of the TFA, said she’s concerned about the standard that’s apparently being used by authorities to determine whether offenses are hate crimes. Texas’ hate crimes statute doesn’t include protections for transgender people, but the new federal law does.
“Apparently the attackers just have to come out and say, ‘Yes it’s a hate crime. I hate them, I was motivated by hate, now take me off to jail,'” Williams said. “Basically, unless they can have evidence that is beyond the pale, that is incontrovertible, they can’t prosecute it is as a hate crime.
“It would break if my heart, and it would make me lose a lot of respect for our legal system, if this guy gets off with a slap on the wrist and some community service after attacking a trans man with a deadly weapon and sending him to the hospital,” Williams said.
In my opinion, that is pretty fucking weak, to actually have to have the attacker admit that he is a bigot against trans people when obviously the victims are not making it up at all, especially if they are battered and bruised from the attack. To have the attitude that what the attacker said is made up is just pure out bullshit.
FREE TERRANCE CALHOUN
Once again, the legal system fails us. I guess we really shouldn’t expect much from Texas, but it’s an insult nonetheless.
i think it’s funny how details change as time goes by. i have talked with lance and the orignal story was that as he was washing his hands someone came into the rest room, put a knife to his throat and demanded his money. the word queer didn’t make its way into the quote untill almost a week later. The reason it cannot be made a hate crime is simple, it has to do with the court system. A charge for a hate crime would cause a jury trial, a jury would have to find him not guilty due to reasonable doubt. Really it’s not a fact that he said “queer” it’s is what a victum claims. This is an aggravated robbery case not an attack. Sadly there just isn’t any way to know for sure that it was a hate crime or that the word queer was used.
I think it’s funny that ray doesn’t watch the news or post a real name. If your going to post on here all these secrets that apparently only you know put a name and contact number. otherwise shut your trap, and leave your nose out of other peoples lives. As for rey rey get a life, and stop reading gay news sources. I’ve known Lance for quite a while, and can vouch for his honesty. If he tells me the guy souted queer I beleave him, and if anyone wants to say something about it just remember. HE WAS THERE YOU WEREN’T. So if you have a problem with him wanting justice, and protection from this society that is supposed to help despite differences I only hope some day you have to deal with a similar situation so you can walk a mile in his shoes.
@ rey rey- what if this happened to you, or someone you loved? Yeah free a mad man that attacked someone because of their orientation. People like you should be ashamed for saying such ignorant comments like freeing someone that is a troubled individual in society!
I have talked to Terrance and he swears that the word queer was never used yes it is wrong what he has done but I don’t think it is right to lie just so the case can get media attention.
Well, I guess we should all just take the word of someone who stuck a knife to someone’s neck and robbed them. Because those kinds of people never lie and are always perfectly honest, even when their honesty would result in additional charges being brought against them.