The Orlando Police Department has confirmed that a suspect caught on camera in January while vandalizing a gay bar in the Milk District was not “…motivated by prejudice or hate.”
At 3:41 a.m. on January 18, a man was seen on video breaking windows at The District Dive and Southern Nights, located at 2401 E. South Street [GMap]. At the time, the bar was closed and nobody was notified of the incident until roughly 9:07 a.m. when officers were called in.
A number of local outlets posited that the incident was a hate crime since it took place at a prominent gay bar but as it turns out, the suspect was a long-term employee of the Southern Nights complex and he used a slingshot to break the windows, not a gun, like many suspected.
49-year-old Martin Narvaez, who is currently incarcerated in Volusia County on a probationary violation, confessed to the crime in an interview with the OPD Violent Crimes unit and will be charged with Felony Criminal Mischief and Throwing a Deadly Missile.
