Deputies Investigate Assaults of Gay Men in West Hollywood

Deputies are investigating a series of recent attacks on gay men in West Hollywood. Angie Crouch reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 27, 2016.

Recent attacks on gay men in West Hollywood have some people on edge and they'd like to see better security for the bustling night life along Santa Monica Boulevard.

Brandon Ackridge said that after only having two drinks Saturday night he blacked out after leaving Mickey's bar and when he woke up he was in the intensive care unit with his face and body covered in bruises.

Ackridge, who works as a bartender and go-go dancer in West Hollywood, believes somebody dropped something in his drink before he was assaulted while walking home.

"I remember coming out of the doors and that's the last thing I recall," he said. "The doctor said when he did my blood test the things that showed up in my blood were consistent with date-rape drugs. The reason they don't think I fell is there's no scrapes. It's all clean bruises on both sides all the way down my body."

This comes just one month after Christopher de la Cruz was attacked a few blocks away.

De la Cruz said two men beat him and held him at knife point while calling him a homophobic slur.

Ackridge said he's not sure if he was targeted because he's gay, but he's worried after hearing about similar attacks.

"Someone posted on my page that someone got beaten up by the Abbey the same night I did," he said.

Word of the assaults comes as no surprise to Chris Martinez who is straight, but works in West Hollywood. He said somebody recently tried to drug his drink at a bar on Santa Monica Boulevard.

"It's just sad, crazy," he said. "But that's the night life. You gotta be careful. You can't lose sight of your drink."

The motive for the attacks isn't known, but Ackridge said he'd like to see more security protecting the bar district in Boys Town.

"It makes me want to stay home," he said. "It shouldn't be like this. This is a beautiful place."

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