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Third Defendant in Marcelo Lucero Killing Pleads Guilty

Posted February 19, 2010 by Ted Hesson

A third defendant has pleaded guilty in the November 2008 attack and killing of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue, according to Newsday. Kevin Shea, an 18-year-old from Medford, entered a guilty plea to first-degree gang assault and fourth-degree conspiracy at an appearance before State Supreme Court Justice Robert W. Doyle this morning at Riverhead’s criminal courthouse.

Shea will be sentenced on April 19 and will serve no more than 10 years in prison, according to the judge. Four of Lucero’s seven attackers remain to be tried.

Newsday’s Carl MacGowan heard from Marcelo’s brother, Joselo Lucero, after the sentencing:

Lucero’s brother, Joselo Lucero, told reporters outside court that he was disappointed with the sentence.

“Right now, what I feel, 10 years is not enough,” he said. “What they [Shea and the others accused of attacking Lucero] did is not right.”

In this morning’s paper, Newsday’s Sumathi Reddy, citing an anonymous source, reported that prosecution will likely seek a trial with multiple juries. The Suffolk County system can only facilitate two juries per trial, meaning no more than two defendants can be tried at once.

A trial of Conroy and Shea together may have been likely. Before he entered his guilty plea, Shea’s jury selection had been slated for February 22. The jury selection for Jeffrey Conroy—who is charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter, both as hate crimes—is set for March 1, which would imply that prosecution intended to try the pair together.

Another defendant, 19-year-old Jordan Dasch, was also present at today’s conference. Dasch’s attorney, Michael Gajdos told Newsday yesterday that his client was brought to the conference to explore the possibility of holding a trial for Dasch and Conroy together.

“As of this time it’s being advanced, I’m told, because they want to see about putting my guy next to Conroy,” Gajdos told Newsday. “I don’t know if that’s going to happen, either. There’s a lot of things that have to be addressed prior to a trial.”

Earlier this week, I reported that Judge Doyle had allowed several key pieces of evidence to be used in the trials of Conroy and Shea, including written statements by both defendants that were taken by police after the crime.

To see Jeffrey Conroy’s written statement, click here. To see Kevin Shea’s written statement, click here.

Tags : hate crimes, jeffrey conroy, jordan dasche, kevin shea, marcelo lucero, sumathi reddy

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