Gang member gets 10 years in prison for attacking gays in Brooklyn

A well-known member of the Bloods who stabbed and punched two men during an attack on gays in a Brooklyn wine cellar will spend 10 years behind bars.

Christopher Clemente, 38, was sentenced Wednesday by Brooklyn Superior Court Danny Cheung in connection with an assault that left two men with collapsed lungs on September 4, 2021.

The victims, a 38-year-old man and a 29-year-old man, were waiting for food in a Broadway wine cellar off Halsey Street in Bushwick when Clemente and two other men began to mock their sexuality, authorities say.

“This is Adam and Eve,” one of the attackers shouted, police said. “Not Adam and Steve!”

Prosecutors said Clemente began punching the elderly victim in the face, and an accomplice, 33-year-old Jonathan Carter, hit the man with a glass liquor bottle and knocked him to the floor.

Clemente continued to attack the man, repeatedly stabbing him in the head and body with a screwdriver, after which he, along with a third attacker who remained at large, chased the younger victim.

According to prosecutors, he grabbed a 29-year-old teenager, punched him and stabbed him, who continued to shout homophobic slurs.

The elderly victim received stab wounds to the body, head and buttocks, and also received a collapse of the left lung. The young man was so badly injured that both of his lungs collapsed and he was hospitalized for 13 days.

Clemente turned himself in to police after the NYPD released photos of the attack. Police say he has nine open arrests dating back to 2005, including for assault and burglary.

On January 25, he pleaded guilty to attempted murder as a hate crime. The Carter case is still pending.

“This vicious attack on two innocent victims was an unacceptable act of anti-gay violence, and today’s verdict sends a strong signal that we will vigorously prosecute anyone who commits a hate crime,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric said Wednesday. Gonzalez. “No one should fear being attacked because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and we are committed to vigilantly defending the rights of the Brooklyn LGBTQ community.”