Anthony Steven Lobos-Ruiz, Hate Crime, Puerto Rico 2023

A disturbing hate crime in Puerto Rico has led to a 33-month prison sentence for Anthony Steven Lobos-Ruiz, who pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting others in the attempted assault of a transgender woman identified as A.N.L.

The heinous crime took place on February 24, 2020, in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Lobos-Ruiz and his co-conspirators, Jordany Rafael Laboy-García and Christian Yamaurie Rivera-Otero, targeted A.N.L. because of her gender identity.

According to court documents, Lobos-Ruiz acted in coordination with his co-defendants to perpetrate the hate crime. On August 29, 2022, Lobos-Ruiz pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting others in the attempted assault of A.N.L. with a paintball gun.

Lobos-Ruiz admitted to procuring a paintball gun with his co-defendants to cause bodily injury to A.N.L. after he and his friends spotted her on the side of the road in Toa Baja and verbally harassed the victim.

Court records show that Lobos-Ruiz also admitted to video recording the assault with his iPhone and sharing the video with others.

The charges against Laboy-García and Rivera-Otero are still pending. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the hate crime charge, five years in prison for the conspiracy charge, and a fine up to $250,000 with respect to each charge.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow for the District of Puerto Rico, and Special Agent in Charge Joseph Gonzalez of the FBI San Juan Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI San Juan Field Office is investigating the case. Trial Attorneys Shan Patel and Laura Gilson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney José A. Contreras for the District of Puerto Rico are prosecuting the case.

Lobos-Ruiz was sentenced to 33 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.

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