FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Prosecutors announced Thursday they are dropping one of five hate crime cases related to a beating last year in Pompano Beach that left a 31-year-old gay man partially blind.
Oleh “Alex” Makarenko, 21, was allegedly in a 9-month relationship with the victim. Officers accused him, his parents, Innah and Yevhen Makarenko; and his two brothers, Vladyslav and Pavel “Paul” Makarenko, of attacking the man.
Prosecutors dropped the case against Vladyslav Makarenko, 25, after defense attorneys provided evidence that he wasn’t in town on Aug. 6, 2021, when officers said the attack happened. He was arrested in Alabama. His brother Pavel Makarenko was arrested in New York.
Attorney Mike Glasser, who is representing a defendant, said this likely means the other cases against the Makarenkos will be dropped too.
“This entire case is based around one person’s word in identifying the alleged perpetrators,” Glasser said adding, “If the entire case rests on one person’s word and that person’s word has now shown to be probably unreliable, I think it’s very compelling as it relates to the other four.”
Officers arrested the Makarenkos, Ukrainian refugees with pending asylum applications, on March 10.
They face charges of attempted first-degree murder, battery during the burglary of a dwelling, and kidnapping with a hate crime enhancement. The maximum possible penalty for each of the three charges is life in state prison.
The only close member of the Makarenko family who wasn’t charged was a 17-year-old girl.
Inna Makarenko was out on bond. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a hold on Yevhen, Pavel, and Vladyslav Makarenko.
Glasser expects ICE to drop the hold on Vladyslav Makarenko and release him soon.
Advocates for the Makarenkos set up a Change.org petition. Angelina Shevchenko, a family friend, said she doesn’t associate the word “hate” with the Makarenkos.
“We worked tirelessly to find the proof of their innocence,” Shevchenko said.