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Teens Murder Latino in Suffolk

Posted November 9, 2008 by Patrick Young, Esq.
Categories: Hate Watch

(By Pat Young) Marcello Lucero was killed in what Suffolk Police are calling a hate crime. He was stabbed in Patchogue Saturday night by a group of teenagers apparently looking for Latinos to target. Information on this case is sketchy thus far, but Newsday has the most complete report.

Here is my analysis on the background to this crime.

Here is an excerpt from the Newsday report:

Marcello Lucero, 37, is of Ecuadorian descent.
Fitzpatrick said the seven suspects drove around Patchogue searching for victims and found Lucero and another Ecuadorian man.
The suspects jumped out of the car and cornered the two men on the street, police said. Police said the second man escaped unharmed and fled to a friend’s house, where he and Lucero had planned to watch a movie. He called police and later helped police identify the suspects.

The friend who had been waiting for them, Elder Fernandez, 36, said the mob fled and he found Lucero near Funard Court, a few hundred feet from where police said the stabbing took place, covered in blood, Fernandez said.

Lucero was transferred to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His relatives could not be reached last night.
Fernandez said he has known Lucero since they were 10 years old in Ecuador. “I saw my friend’s last minute,” he said. “It was miserable.”
The teenagers, all of whom are white and who live in either East Patchogue or Medford, have been charged with what police say is a hate crime.
All seven teenagers face a charge of first-degree gang assault. They were being held overnight at the Fifth Precinct in Patchogue and will be arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip today.

One suspect, Jeffrey Conroy, 17, of 189 Jamaica Ave. in Medford, was charged with first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime, said Fitzpatrick.
Visit the Marcelo Lucero Action Page for up-to-the-minute info.

We have created a page for daily updates on the murder as well as steps you can take to make sure it does not happen again.

Tags : hate crimes, hate watch, jeffrey conroy, marcelo lucero

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