NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A black man who was chased and beaten by a group of white teenagers took the witness stand Thursday to recount the assault that left him crumpled on a street in Howard Beach, a Queens neighborhood that also was the scene of an infamous racial attack in the 1980s.
AUDIO: Hear Glenn Moore's 911 call on June 29, 2005
Glenn Moore, who suffered a fractured skull, began by acknowledging that he was up to no good the night he was attacked.
Moore, 23, said he and two friends had gone to the predominantly white neighborhood to steal a car but hadn't found one they liked and were wandering the streets when they were set upon by a group led by Nicholas Minucci.
The black men scattered and ran. Moore fell and was caught.
He said his attackers took off his sneakers and had him on his knees when Minucci, a 240-pounder who goes by the name ``Fat Nick,'' swung an aluminum bat at his head like he was trying to hit a ball off a tee.
``Ding! Right above my right ear,'' Moore said.
During the assault, Minucci hurled a racial epithet and shouted, ``We'll show you not to come and rob white boys,'' Moore said.
The attack, in the early morning hours of June 29, 2005, drew comparisons to the 1986 death of Michael Griffith, a black man struck by a car while trying to escape a group of attackers in the same neighborhood.
In that case, Griffith's car had broken down in the white neighborhood.
Defense attorney Albert Gaudelli told the jury last week that Moore's motive for being in the area was different and Minucci was only using reasonable force to prevent a larceny.
Minucci, 19, was charged with assault and robbery as a hate crime. He could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
During his cross-examination, Gaudelli questioned the seriousness of Moore's injuries, sought to challenge his credibility and asked why he hadn't used his cell phone to call police when he was being chased.
Moore said he was scared and busy trying to escape.
``I was running because white guys were chasing me with a bat,'' he said. ``I wasn't trying to find out what for, I was trying to get away.''
The defense hasn't said whether Minucci will testify, but jurors got a taste of his side of the story last week.
Prosecutors played video and audio recordings of statements Minucci made to investigators shortly after the attack. On the tapes, Minucci first claimed he was home watching television, then admitted participating in the attack.
Minucci said Moore and two friends were trying to rob him and the bat attack was an attempt to immobilize him until police arrived. Minucci said he struck Moore only in the legs, not in the head.
``It's self-defense, no?'' Minucci said on the tape.
On Tuesday, Frankie Agostini, accused of being an accomplice in the beating, gave a different account. The 19-year-old testified that he and Minucci came across Moore's group while looking for a pair of black men who had made a menacing comment earlier in the evening.
Agostini, the son of a police detective, said Minucci repeatedly hurled a racial epithet at Moore during the assault. He also described the clang the aluminum bat made when it connected with Moore's skull.
``It sounded like Barry Bonds hit a home run,'' Agostini said.
The defense has claimed that the epithet, often referred to in court as ``the N-word,'' is so commonly used today that it no longer has a predominantly racist connotation.
Gaudelli said he intends to present more evidence about changing usage of the N-word when the defense begins calling witnesses next week.
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