Cops have busted a man who allegedly beat an openly gay journalist in Midtown earlier this month.
Leighton Jennings, 24, of 166th Street in Queens was charged with second-degree assault for punching Randy Gener on Seventh Avenue near West 54th Street about 3 a.m. on Jan. 17, police said.
Police said the victim bumped into the suspect’s girlfriend and the pair argued before Jennings belted Gener.
The victim, 46, fell to the ground and smacked his head on the pavement after the assault.
Jennings sped away in a gray, four-door Nissan with Mississippi license plates, police said.
Gener suffered severe head trauma and was rushed to St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, where he underwent surgery, authorities said. He remains hospitalized in stable condition.
Police initially investigated the assault as a possible hate crime but determined Gener’s sexuality had nothing to do with it.