SUMMARY: Four Riverside, Calif., suspected gang members were arrested Thursday for the June 5 stabbing death of an openly gay man.

Facing possible hate crimes penalties, four Riverside, Calif., suspected gang members were arrested Thursday for the June 5 stabbing death of an openly gay man, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Jeffery Owens, 40, was attacked with a knife outside the Riverside nightclub Menagerie; he died six hours later.

The attack started after one of Owens' friends, Michael Bussee, 48, was punched and stabbed in the club's parking lot by one of the four suspects. Owens was trying to help Bussee when the suspect said, "You want some trouble … fag, here it is," and stabbed the Moreno Valley resident.

The murder has rocked the city of 250,000, which is located between Los Angeles and Palm Springs. At a June 10 vigil, more than 400 people showed up to mourn Owens' death and denounce the attack. According to local paper the Press-Enterprise, Rabbi Harold Caminker of Temple Beth El in Riverside told the vigil attendees to remember what happened to Owens.

"We will not be silent!" Caminker said several times to the crowd.

The Los Angeles Times reported there were 45 hate crimes in Riverside in 2001, up from 38 in 2000. A Riverside Police Department spokesperson said there have been 10 crimes reported against people of Middle Eastern descent since Sept. 11, and five related to sexual orientation.

The Riverside Police have been praised by Owens' friends and family for their investigation of the murder. Almost immediately, the department considered the potential for a hate crime charge.

"It's a hate crime," said Police Chief Russ Leach to the Press-Enterprise. "The motive was pure hatred."

Three of the four were held on murder charges and participation in a street gang, while the fourth received another charge, attempted murder, for his attack of Bussee.

Prosecuting the four under hate crimes statutes will not be easy, however. Prosecutors will have to present a clear motive to jurors, showing Owens' sexuality was a primary factor in the murder.

Bussee was at the nightclub's parking lot yesterday to speak about the arrests. "I've been shaking for two weeks," he told the Los Angeles Times. "There's a feeling of relief. I'm happy, but I'm still scared."