POMPANO BEACH
Teens plead not guilty in attack on homeless man in Pompano
Not-guilty pleas have been entered in the case of teenagers accused of roughing up a homeless man and posting video of the attack on YouTube.
BY JUAN ORTEGA
Sun Sentinel
Two men charged with an attack on a homeless man in Pompano Beach that was filmed and posted online pleaded not guilty Monday, their lawyers said.
Those men -- Nicholas Bakum, 19, of Lighthouse Point, and William Sleight, 19, of Deerfield Beach -- are among four suspects accused of roughing up 54-year-old James Cunningham last year, filming the attack and posting the footage on the Internet, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.
Bakum, Sleight and two other suspects -- Brandon Edwards, 19, of Fort Lauderdale, and Bradley Wunderlich, 21, of Parkland -- were arrested and charged with kidnapping and battery, BSO said.
It was unclear whether Edwards and Wunderlich have entered pleas in the case. An attorney representing Edwards could not be reached for comment Monday despite a phone call. The Broward Public Defender's Office may be assigned to represent Wunderlich.
Sleight allegedly filmed the attack on his cellphone in July 2008 as the three other men taunted, smacked, pushed, dragged, and yelled at Cunningham, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.
They grabbed Cunningham's arms and legs and carried him down Southeast Fifth Street, BSO said. The video was posted on YouTube.com in January, police said.
Bakum's lawyer, James Stark, argued authorities have portrayed the incident inaccurately. He also said the video never shows Cunningham was dragged, as authorities have stated.
``Just take a close look at the video,'' Stark said. ``There's nothing even close to a vicious beating.''
Sleight's lawyer, Bradley Collins, said the charges against Sleight are unwarranted, saying Sleight never touched Cunningham during the alleged attack. He said he is looking into whether Cunningham was a trespasser the day of the incident.
``My client didn't do anything,'' Collins said. ``I'm not even sure how they charged them.''
In response to the lawyers' comments, Dani Moschella, a spokeswoman for the Broward Sheriff's Office, said: ``I'm going to let the video speak for itself.''
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