POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Two brothers who were accused in the beating of a gay man in Pompano Beach are speaking out and sharing their side of the story after prosecutors dropped all charges against one of them in what the alleged victim described as a hate crime.
Speaking with 7News on Wednesday, Pavlo Makarenko and his twin brother, Vladyslav Makarenko, said being arrested and going to jail was the worst experience of their lives, after the siblings, another brother and their parents were accused in the vicious beating.
“All their case was built on the statement of one man, and the statement is, unfortunately, unreliable. It was full of lies,” said Vladyslav.
Vladyslav said he was able to prove he was in another state on the night of the Aug. 6, 2021 attack. His charges were dropped, and he was released from jail several weeks ago.
Pavlo claims he was at his apartment at the time of the incident. He was arrested for the crime in New York City.
Pavlo has since been released from a New York jail, and a request for extradition to Florida has been withdrawn.
However, Pavlo’s charges have not been dropped, and there is still a warrant out for his arrest.
The brothers’ parents, Inna and Yevhen Makarenko, and their brother Oleh remain in custody.
Pavlo said the wheels of justice are moving too slowly in this case.
“It’s been five months. If they did something, prove it,” he said. “If you’re ready to drop some charges, you see that something is wrong. Make it quick.”
The alleged victim claims the Makarenkos came to his home and attacked him because he was in a relationship with Oleh.
The 31-year-old man, who spoke to a Broward Sheriff’s Office detective about the attack back in May, said he suffered brain injuries, broken bones and is now blind.
“Definitely, they were trying to kill me, they were trying to hurt me. I was definitely going to die, and there was no way I was gonna walk out of there alive,” he said.
When the BSO detective asked whether there’s a chance he’ll regain his sight, the victim replied, “No. Medically, what I was told was that there’s nothing they can do.”
“The alleged victim is saying that we came and beat him up, but in fact, we didn’t even know the victim,” said Vladyslav.
The siblings said the case with the rest of his family is currently at a standstill. They said their parents and Oleh are being held at an immigration facility.
“If there’s a claim that we’re such serious criminals, why did they let go a person like me?” said Pavlo.
The Makarenkos claim they all have alibis, are innocent of any wrongdoing and want all charges dropped.
“All I want is for this nightmare to end for my family,” said Pavlo.
The Broward State Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to 7News’ request for clarification.
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