November 20, 2008 2:27 PM
The seven young men who were already facing stiff penalties in the maurder of Marcelo Lucero are facing even tougher charges in that case and charges in yet another hate crime. Here is an excerpt from Newsday's report on this:
Prosecutors said the group drove together to Medford, looking for Hispanics to attack, and failing to find them went to downtown Patchogue. They first chased and attacked Hector Sierra but he escaped, authorities said.
Sierra, 55, of Patchogue, has said he was attacked by a group of young men on a Patchogue street on the same night Lucero was fatally stabbed.
"They punched me twice on the side of my head, then they struck me on the back of the head, and I fell in the middle of the street," Sierra said. "They kicked me, and I thought, 'they're going to kill me.'"
In addition, Hausch and Dasch were each charged with another count of second-degree assault as a hate crime after they attacked Marlon Garcia in front of his home with a BB gun earlier in the day, at about 5 a.m., prosecutors said. Garcia escaped harm.
We have lately encountered a number of defenders of the accused men who have singled out Pacheco, Hausch, and Dasch as essentially teens who "just went along for the ride". If the police are right, then this could not be true. This shows not an impulsive teenaged prank gone terribly wrong, but a night in which each individual had ample opportunity to evalute the group's intent and either walk away or report the others to the police. None did.
Hausch and Dasch had, independently from the other five men, committed a hate crime against a Latino sixteen hours earlier in the day. All seven went looking for Latinos to attack in Medford and then drove to Patchogue looking for a Latino to "beaner jump", to use their hateful phrase. They then attacked Hector Sierra brutally and felled him.
At this point all of them knew the following:
1. The intention was to look for Latinos to attack
2. The methodology of attack included swarming around the victim, so that even those who might not strike deadly blows understood that the potentially fatal strikes to the head were facilitated by the swarm
3. That at least some of the members of the group were willing to inflict potentially deadly injuries
4. That none of the group would offer any assistance or mercy to the victims
By the time the attackers got to Lucero, they knew what the group's purpose was in accosting the Ecuadorian immigrant and they knew the deadly means that would be employed. They understood that the purpose was not to scare someone, it was to do serious physical harm.
Notice the ages of those attacked? They purposely chose older victims. My guess is these "nice boys" are filled with so much cowardice,they didn't want to confront a formidable opponent.
By Bill November 20, 2008 03:19 PM
I think that everyone needs to calm down. What has been said in court about these kids is partly untrue. Not all of them knew that conroy was armed nor did they even know he stabbed the victim. im not justifing what they did. But in this country you are innocent untill provin guilty. i think with the speed that our media moves now that people are forgetting that and forgetting that the media likes to change stories around to sell papers and get higher ratings. so unless you were there and truly knew what was going on and can prove that alll of them even knew that they were going out to do this. Then I beleive everyone should keep there mouth shut.
By erer November 21, 2008 10:10 AM
I think that everyone needs to calm down. What has been said in court about these kids is partly untrue. Not all of them knew that conroy was armed nor did they even know he stabbed the victim. im not justifing what they did. But in this country you are innocent untill provin guilty. i think with the speed that our media moves now that people are forgetting that and forgetting that the media likes to change stories around to sell papers and get higher ratings. so unless you were there and truly knew what was going on and can prove that alll of them even knew that they were going out to do this. Then I beleive everyone should keep there mouth shut.
By erer November 21, 2008 10:10 AM
erer, you are correct that these seven individuals should receive a fair trial. However, you wrongly attribute the details in my post to "the media". These were, in fact supplied to the media by the police. If you believe the Suffolk PD and DA is misrepresenting the facts as you know them you may want to come forward and explain. Also, if you know any of the young men who are less responsible for the killing than the others, you may want to encourage their families to have their sons come clean. Anyone who genuinely disagreed with and distanced himself from the killing has a moral obligation as an American to testify against his confederates.
While the entire group may not have known whether Conroy was armed, they clearly did know that bias-related acts were contemplated, they all participated in at least one bias attack before the Lucero killing, and, as far as we know, none of them sought help for the fatally wounded man.
As for your suggestion that I keep my "mouth shut", I'm sure that is a sentiment that many of the supporters of the attackers share.
I want to assure my readers that I will not stay silent in the face of the violence directed against Latinos. My right to freedom of speech is fundamental to the democratic process.
By Pat Young November 21, 2008 11:11 AM