Trial Set For Men Accused of Hate Crime and Armed Robbery

A jury will decide later this month whether a woman was beaten and robbed because of her perceived sexual orientation or whether she was actually the aggressor of the fight.

Authorities said Mohammed Shaban and Akram Alshoweat yelled gay epithets in Arabic while they punched, . Charges included hate crime and armed robbery.

But on July 24 defense attorneys intend to call several witnesses of their own, including a Palos Community Hospital doctor who apparently treated Alshoweat later that night for a fractured nose.

They say the woman and allege that one of her students was involved in the fight. The Cook County State’s Attorney Office, which has declined to discuss details of the case, has made no mention of a fourth person in court or in a press release. 

"I don't want to speculate and give away my theory of the case,” defense attorney Michael Monaco said Tuesday by telephone, but added: “It’s more of something people should have been sat down and scolded over than anything else. But (prosecutors) see the case differently."

Last summer, Cook County Judge Colleen Hyland told attorneys to . A jury trial has been set and reset half a dozen times since. 

On Tuesday, it was moved most recently to June 24 because a retired police officer was going to be out of town that week. 

"He is necessary for our case," assistant state's attorney Mary Jennings told the judge, because "he recorded a statement from Mr. Shaban at the scene."

In March, the men rejected a plea deal that included no jail time. Jennings has said she got the woman’s permission before offering the defendants probation.

Updated June 18 to correct new date of trial