Gay man's face 'peeled off' in knife attack; police won't charge his confessed attacker

A gay California man had his face “peeled off” in a knife attack by an Uber driver in Arizona last year, but police have refused to press charges, Lookout News reports.

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Rene Almaraz was visiting Phoenix with three other friends when they entered an Uber driven by Arnold Lawton outside a gay nightclub on May 5, 2024, according to police reports seen by Lookout. Almaraz said Lawton appeared annoyed by the “gay lingo” used in their group and soon turned up the radio to cover their conversation. Almaraz told Lawton the group could end their ride early if he was offended, and an argument ensued.

As Almaraz tried to exit the vehicle, he says, Lawton uttered a homophobic slur before slashing the gay man’s face and hands. Almaraz had “half of his face seemed peeled off,” according to the police report, and required emergency care at a local hospital.

Lawton told a different story to the police. He did not deny slashing Almaraz but claimed he acted to defend himself from assault by Almaraz and his friends. Lawton said that as he slowed down his vehicle, he was “punched in the back of the head and on the side of his body so many times that he saw stars,” police said in their report.

Almaraz had few kind words about the investigation. He spoke with police on the night of the attack but did not speak with them again until he initiated contact a few months later. He was put in contact with a liaison officer, and even though Arizona has no sexual bias hate-crimes law, Almaraz still felt there was enough evidence to charge Lawton in the case.

Four months after the attack, however, he was notified by letter and a call from an LGBTQ+ liaison that Lawton would not be charged. Prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to obtain a conviction.

“We must be able to prove all elements of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt,” Mischa L. Hepner, deputy county attorney for Maricopa County, wrote in a letter to Almaraz dated September 24. “If we are unable to do so, there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction at trial. For this reason, this submittal does not meet the charging standard for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and we are declining prosecution at this time.”

The news stunned Almaraz, who disputed Lawton’s account and claims of self-defense.

“I don’t understand how it could be deemed self-defense or why it was turned down,” Almaraz told Lookout. “I was unarmed, he had multiple weapons in the car — it just didn’t make any sense. It was heartbreaking. I was completely assaulted and violated. I could have lost my life.”

Almaraz said he contacted the FBI regarding the assault and possible federal hate-crime charges, but he has yet to hear back.

Lawton parted ways with Uber shortly after the attack. He did not respond to a request for comment from Lookout.