Update: Gregory Brzoza, the man who yelled "go back to your own country" at a Middle Eastern man before knocking him unconscious last year in the Flats, was sentenced to supervised probation this week after pleading guilty last month to aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation.
Broza blamed alcohol for the incident saying it was not reflective of who he really is but "reflective of the amount of alcohol I drank."
He'll have to pay $1,600 to the victim, who couldn't be in court because he was having surgery at MetroHealth hospital due to complications arising from a previous surgery to repair his jaw after the attack. He had asked in a letter to the court for a maximum sentence. ""No person of color should feel like they don't belong in this country and no person should be assaulted because of it," he said in his letter.
Broza must attend four Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a week and submit to alcohol and drug testing. He lives in Pennsylvania but will have to report to Cuyahoga County probation officers weekly.
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(Updated 8/28/17): Gregory Brzoza was arrested on Monday, Cleveland police announced, though details on his apprehension were not known.
Brzoza was indicted last week for felonious assault after allegedly hurling racial slurs at a man in the Flats before assaulting him.
The victim, a 22-year-old male, was left knocked unconscious and suffered a broken jaw in addition to losing some teeth.
A court date has not yet been scheduled.
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(Original story 8/25/17): Gregory Brzoza, 24, has been charged with felonious assault in an apparent hate crime that took place early Sunday morning in the Flats. He is accused of brutally beating a food cart customer and yelling racial and homophobic slurs, according to police.
After yelling at the man — "You don't belong, go back to your own country" — Brzoza knocked him unconscious. The victim, 22, suffered a broken jaw and a lost tooth as he was beaten against the sidewalk's concrete.
Brzoza has not yet been arrested; Cleveland police issued a warrant yesterday. His image and a description of the attack have been shared on social media since Tuesday.
