Case # 17WF2736
Date: December 12, 2017
SEAL BEACH MAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIMES FOR THREATENING AND SPITTING ON SAME-SEX COUPLE
*Co-defendant charged last week for taking the victims’ phone away as they called 911
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Seal Beach man was charged today with hate crimes for threatening and spitting on a same-sex couple.
| Defendant | Charges | Maximum Sentence | Court Date |
| Samuel Blake Wickwire, 18, Seal Beach | Charged today with the following felony counts:
Sentencing Enhancement
|
Six years in state prison | Pre-trial
Dec. 14, 2017, 8:30 a.m. Department W-1, West Justice Center, Westminster |
Co-defendant Wade James Rutledge, 27, Seal Beach, was charged on Dec. 5, 2017, with one felony count each of dissuading a witness by force or threat and hate crime assault causing violent injury, with sentencing enhancements for hate crimes. He faces a maximum sentence of seven years in state prison and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on Dec. 14, 2017, at 8:30 a.m. in Department W-1, West Justice Center, Westminster.
Circumstances of the Case
- On Nov. 3, 2017, at approximately 7:00 p.m., Wickwire and Rutledge are accused of approaching John Doe 1 and his boyfriend John Doe 2 in a parking lot near 10th Street and Ocean Avenue in Seal Beach.
- Wickwire, Rutledge, and their associates are accused of making derogatory remarks about the couple’s same-sex relationship and threatening them with violence if they did not leave.
- Wickwire is accused of spitting on one of the victims.
- John Doe 1 called 911 and Rutledge is accused of grabbing the victim’s arm, forcing the phone out of his hand, disconnecting the 911 call, and walking back to his friends.
- Rutledge is accused of returning the phone but telling John Doe 1 to leave and not call the police.
- As the victims entered their car to leave, Rutledge is accused of shoving John Doe 2 into the passenger seat and slamming the door on the victim’s arm while yelling at them to hurry and leave the area.
- Seal Beach Police Department (SBPD) investigated this case and identified Rutledge, who was located and arrested in a Seal Beach parking lot on Dec. 3, 2017.
- SBPD identified Wickwire through further investigation and arrested the defendant on Dec. 10, 2017, in Seal Beach.
Prosecutor: Senior Deputy District Attorney Paul Chrisopoulos, Special Prosecutions Unit