NEW YORK, NY May 26, 2006 —Jurors in the hate crime trial of Nicholas Minucci watched a security camera video taken the night he beat a black man with a baseball bat. The video showed the front of Ragtime, the Howard Beach newsstand where Minucci says he was spending time when he says the victim and his two friends tried to rob him.

REPORTER: The video showed no trace of Minucci, possibly casting doubt on his story, but his attorney, Albert Gaudelli, said the video was irrelevant.

GAUDELLI: They were showing photographs of the front of Ragtime. But that's the front, not the side. And if you listen to Mr. Minucci's statement, he said he was at the side of Ragtime.

REPORTER: Minucci says he later pursued the 3 men but attributes the victim's skull fracture to a bad fall. According to Gaudelli, Minucci was within his rights to use reasonable physical force to prevent a crime. The men admit they were seeking to steal a car.