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3 plead guilty in Tarpon beatings

A gay couple avoid the community since a brawl outside a restaurant. It began with a slur and their being attacked by the three men.

By NORA KOCH
Published May 4, 2005

	[Times photo: Scott Keeler]
	Stamatios N. Kannis, from left, John A. Himonetos and Michael Kitsos, all of Tarpon Springs, sit Tuesday in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court. The three men pleaded guilty to attacking a gay couple.

Peter Malamoutsis had planned to show his boyfriend the culture of Tarpon Springs, but their evening of saganaki and retsina wine took a nightmarish turn steps from the restaurant.

Three young men attacked them and some friends as they left Zorba's Restaurant and Lounge in the city's tourist district, beating them, authorities said. One of the assailants called Malamoutsis a derogatory Greek word for gay. Since that night in November 2003, the couple have rarely returned to the close-knit community that Malamoutsis once called home.

"I don't stop in Tarpon anymore. . . . I just drive right through," said Malamoutsis, 23, who now lives in Bartow with R. Gregory Hall, 32, his boyfriend of five years.

On Tuesday, the day they were scheduled to go to trial, the three men charged in the early-morning attack pleaded guilty in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court.

John A. Himonetos agreed to serve two years in prison and will turn himself in next week. Himonetos, 23, pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor battery and three counts of felony battery, one of which was elevated to a second-degree charge because police said it was a hate crime. If he had gone to trial, Himonetos would have faced from 99 months to 15 years in prison, said his attorney, Kevin Hayslett.

Stamatios N. Kannis, 23, and Michael Kitsos, 23, will serve two years of probation. Kannis pleaded guilty to three counts of felony battery. Kitsos pleaded guilty to three counts of misdemeanor battery.

All three men were ordered to have no contact with the victims and to pay restitution to cover their medical bills.

That night, Malamoutsis had brought Hall to Tarpon Springs to show him a slice of his Greek culture and hang out with friends. He saw Himonetos, an old acquaintance who was a regular at the Japanese restaurant where Malamoutsis once worked. The two struck up a conversation, but the talk took a turn toward trouble after Malamoutsis told Himonetos he worked at the Castle, a club in Ybor City.

Himonetos then made a disparaging comment about the Castle being a gay club, Malamoutsis said. In response, Malamoutsis told Himonetos that he is gay.

Hours later, as Malamoutsis and his friends were leaving after last call, police say, Himonetos, Kitsos and Kannis were outside the restaurant. Himonetos punched Andrew Skiadas, who was with Malamoutsis' group, police said. Malamoutsis tried to intervene, and Himonetos called him a derogatory name and punched him next. Malamoutsis' brother, Theo, and Hall then tried to thwart the attack on him, and both were injured. The confrontation erupted into a brawl that sent five people to a hospital with minor injuries.

"There was no argument that started this," prosecutor Bill Loughery said in court Tuesday. He said the attack took place because "Mr. Malamoutsis lives an alternative lifestyle and Mr. Himonetos doesn't appreciate it."

Since that night, Malamoutsis' and Hall's lives have changed. They moved to New Orleans for a short while, but returned to Florida when they found the Crescent City to be filled with crime. Malamoutsis said he still suffers from the injuries, his eyesight blurred by floating spots and one of his teeth still in need of repair. The part-time model also needed plastic surgery to repair an eye, he said.

His mother, father, brother and sister still live in Tarpon Springs. He and Hall visit only a few times a year, at night. Theo Malamoutsis, 34, still lives in the area and feels uncomfortable in his hometown even though he is straight.

"Once a person does all of this stuff to you," he said, "you feel like they invaded your freedom."

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Nora Koch can be reached at nkoch@sptimes.com or 727-771-4304.

[Last modified May 4, 2005, 00:58:13]