A gay couple arrested at OutFest turned down a plea agreement this week, choosing to have their case head to trial later this month.
After a status hearing Oct. 28, Anthony Reto and Thomas Berner rejected the prosecutor’s proposal for the pair to enter the Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition program. Instead, they will face a trial at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 25 on the summary charges of disorderly conduct and criminal conspiracy.
Reto was arrested Oct. 13 by a Civil Affairs officer who said Reto pushed him.
Reto, Berner and two friends had been posing for a photo in front of the antigay protesters shortly before the arrest, and Reto and witnesses contend he did not approach the officer. The officer says he was pushed from behind and grabbed the person standing behind him before turning around.
Video at the scene shows several officers forcefully holding Reto on the ground. Berner was later arrested after attempting to reach his partner.
The pair filed a complaint with Internal Affairs, and the investigation is ongoing.
The couple’s attorney, Lloyd Long 3rd of Krasner, Hughes & Long, LLC, said the pair is eager to tell their story in court.
“Both Mr. Berner and Mr. Reto have decided that they want to go to trial in this matter because they were wrongly arrested and accused of acts they didn’t commit,” Long told PGN. “We look forward to the opportunity to prove that neither gentleman did anything wrong and that the police response was entirely inappropriate and excessive.”
Requirements of ARD programs differ based on the offense but, Long said, had they accepted the offer, the pair may have been placed on probation and asked to pay court costs. Once the requirements of the agreement are satisfied, the charges are dropped and the parties are eligible for their records to be expunged.
“They’re not doing anybody any favors by offering them the right to make payments and be on probation when they didn’t do anything,” Long said.