Mixed verdict in Marcelo Lucero case

An eighteen-year-old Long Island teen was found guilty in the 2008 slaying of an Ecuadorian immigrant yet he was absolved of the harshest charge.

Jeffrey Conroy was convicted of manslaughter as a hate crime in the death of Marcelo Lucero and could be sentenced next month to between 8 and 25 years in jail. Conroy was also found guilty on lesser charges of going “beaner-jumping” with other teens in order to assault other Latinos. Nevertheless Conroy escaped being convicted for the most serious charge of second-degree murder as a hate crime, which would’ve carried a maximum punishment of life in prison.

Conroy was the only one of seven implicated in the Lucero case to be charged with murder and manslaughter. Though he originally confessed to police that he killed Lucero he took back his admission and proclaimed his innocence at the trial. Conroy’s attorney argued that he took the rap for a teen he met hours before attacking Lucero but prosecutors said that Conroy showed an intent to kill and tried to pin the blame on someone he barely knew.

Suffolk County prosecutors declared the verdict as fair and Conroy’s attorney said that he would appeal the verdict. Yet local Latino activists and members of the Ecuadorian exile community feel that that the conviction was insufficient. “There are no winners”, said one Ecuadorian official according to newsday.com while Lucero’s brother Joselo was disappointed over the verdict in remarks he made to Ecuadorian radio.

Lucero’s death helped galvanize Long Island’s growing Latino community against what they claimed was an attitude of intolerance even among officials. Such an attitude has changed somewhat though not enough to dissuade fears among Latinos:

Many Hispanics attacked in the days before Lucero's killing were afraid to report the crimes to police, fearing questions about their immigration status, prosecutors said...

After the Lucero killing, Suffolk Police assigned an Ecuadorean born officer to work as a liaison between police and the Hispanic community in Patchogue. Some Hispanics in the community say conditions have improved, but advocates have held several press conferences during the trial, contending much work still needs to be done to ease fears.

While one trial nears its close another one involving a slain Ecuadorian immigrant is in its initial stages. Jury selection continued today in the 2008 murder of Jose Sucuzhuñay in Brooklyn.

Image- New York Times (“A vigil in Patchogue, N.Y., in 2008 for Marcelo Lucero, six days after he was killed.”)
Online Sources- newsday.com, New York Times, MSNBC, CNN, AP, NY1

Prosecutors blast "beaner-jumping" teens in Marcelo Lucero trial

Opening statements were made this week in the trial against one of the teens accused of the 2008 hate crime murder of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero.

Prosecutors started proceedings yesterday by claiming that nineteen-year-old Jeffrey Conroy and six others roamed the streets of Patchogue on Long Island seeking random Latinos to assault. "They were looking for blood, specifically Mexican blood," said one of the prosecutors about the teens that were accused of assaulting Lucero as part of a made-up sport they called "beaner-jumping." Furthermore, prosecutors claimed that Conroy admitted to police that he stabbed Lucero and had kept the murder weapon as a “trophy” when he was arrested.

Four of the defendants have already pled guilty and are expected to testify against Conroy who has declared not guilty of charges including murder and manslaughter. Aside from defending his client’s alleged innocence, Conroy’s lawyer attacked Lucero’s character by pointing out his prior drug use. Conroy faces a maximum sentence of life in jail if convicted of second-degree murder.

The second day of Lucero’s trial coincides with Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy publicly declaring his candidacy for New York Governor. As the New York Times noted in an editorial, Levy’s policies on immigration (including his dismissive reaction to Lucero’s murder) could be a major liability:

It isn’t just that he sometimes repeats xenophobic lies, as when he told a library meeting a few years ago that a flood of illegal immigrants’ babies was swamping the Southampton Hospital maternity ward. It isn’t just that he has allied himself with groups at the far-right edge of the debate. It is that his strategy of trying to make life untenable for Long Islanders he presumes to be illegal is divisive and ineffective. His reaction to tragedies like the killing of the Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero has been heartless and dismissive.

Image- CBS News (Jeffrey Conroy and six other teens have been accused of killing Marcelo Lucero in 2008).
Online Sources- New York Times, NY1, Huffington Post, New York Daily News, CNN, The Latin Americanist, NBC New York

Yet another anti-Latino incident in Patchogue

The Long Island neighborhood of Patchogue has been rocked by another anti-Latino incident.

Local detectives said that vandals broke into the Iglesia Evangelica Refugio de Salvacion last night and left notes filled with "anti-Hispanic comments." The allegedly hateful scribes have been reported by one parishioner as “in Spanish (and) out of a dictionary” yet boasting that “saying that Hispanics didn't rule but white people ruled here”.

Patchogue has been the site of several biased attacks against the area’s growing Latino population. Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero was killed last November in a suspected hate crime while anther Latino was beaten last month by a trio of teens.

It was this nervous climate that was highlighted by a Southern Poverty Law Center report released yesterday. The study blasted Suffolk County chief executive Steve Levy for engaging in "verbal immigrant-bashing" since taking office; for example, he insensitively compared the fallout from Lucero's murder to "the discomfort of undergoing a colonoscopy." The report also criticized local police for stoking the flames of fear:

Many immigrants told the center’s investigators that the “police did not take their reports of attacks seriously, often blaming the victim,” the report said. “They said there’s little point in going to the police, who are often not interested in their plight and instead demand to know their immigration status”…

The center’s report urged local officials to adopt several measures — including halting “their angry demagoguery” about immigration, promoting educational programs that encourage respect for diversity, and training police officers to take seriously all allegations of hate-motivated crime.

Image- Gothamist (November 2008 Newsday cover of a vigil held after the Marcelo Lucero murder)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, New York Daily News, New York Times, newsday.com, myfoxny.com

Another Latino targeted in Patchogue “hate crime”

Police arrested a pair of suspects accused in an alleged bias attack against a Latino in the Long Island town of Patchogue. If the name of that locaation sounds familiar it’s because it’s the same place were Marcelo Lucero was slain in a hate crime last year.

In the latest case, two teens were charged with assaulting a man who- much like Lucero- was originally from Ecuador. The victim claimed that he was beat up earlier this month while walking on the street around midnight. According to police, the victim was attacked without provocation and the assailants uttered racial slurs like calling him "a *** Mexican".

Last week, authorities arrested another teen suspected of the attack; oddly, that suspect was of Hispanic background.

Lucero’s death along with the latest beating has raised fear and anxiety among Long Island’s growing Latino immigrant population:

Authorities said some of the teens had attacked local Hispanics in a series of incidents stretching back a year, prompting an outcry from Hispanic residents who said police hadn't taken the earlier assaults seriously.

Police have emphasized that since Lucero's death, they have been particularly sensitive to crimes against Hispanic immigrants.

Image- New York Times (A girl at the makeshift memorial for Marcelo Lucero last year.)
Online Sources- AP, Newsday.com, UPI 1010 WINS, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: August 11, 2009

* Bolivia: Research conducted on an indigenous Bolivian tribe concluded that strokes and heart attacks may’ve been very rare throughout most of human history.

* Uruguay: While several Latin American left-of-center governments are in danger of being defeated by conservatives, a recent poll showed that most Uruguayans back their moderate/left ruling party.

* U.S: Police and federal agents raided a pair of Long Island restaurants in order to halt an alleged prostitution ring that exploited undocumented women from Central America.

* Guatemala: President Alvaro Colom said that he would continue to crackdown on corruption in the country’s police which he claims is due to drug traffickers.

Image- examiner.com
Online Sources- Los Angeles Times, Angus Reid Global Monitor, LAHT, The Latin Americanist, newsday.com

Latino assaulters in possible hate crime

In recent months, Latinos like Marcelo Lucero have been the target of heinous crimes on Long Island due to their race and nationality. The Hispanic community rallied around his death and correctly criticized the increasingly hostile climate against Latinos on Long Island.

Nassau County authorities may bring up hate crime charges against a group of Latinos who attacked an African-American man yesterday. One of those accused is an off-duty New York City cop who reportedly used racial slurs while attacking the victim:

Any assault motivated by anger, hatred, and/or intolerance should be condemned regardless of who the aggressors are. Whether Latinos are the victims or the perpetrators, attacks like the one described above are idiotic and sickening.

Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, wpix.com, newsday.com

Daily Headlines: February 19, 2009

* Mexico: Several local officials and media outlets have claimed that recent protests in northern Mexico are organized by violent drug gangs.

* U.S.: "We are all human beings and we don't have a right to take a life," said the mother of slain Ecuadorian Marcelo Lucero after attending initial proceedings against two of the eight defendants.

* Puerto Rico: Scientists examining unexploded bombs off the former Naval base on Vieques concluded that those munitions release dangerous cancer-causing toxins.

* Nicaragua: The owners of a Managua nightclub apologized for being racist after turning away a black woman who just so happens to represent Nicaragua in the Central American Parliament.

Image- BBC News (A banner held during a recent demonstration in northern Mexico read “The soldiers do not let us live in peace we are scared” [sic]).
Online Sources- LAHT, The Latin Americanist, newsday.com, New York Times, U.S. News and World Report

New charges in Marcelo Lucero hate crime case

Prosecutors unveiled new charges against a seven teens suspected of the November 2008 murder of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero.

The new indictment presented yesterday said that the youths were part of a larger gang whose purpose was to harass and injure Latinos on Long Island. The defendants were part of "a violent and racially driven pastime," Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota said that included beating and robbing a Latino unconscious and threatening to kill another man with a lead pipe.

Despite Suffolk County executive Steve Levy’s initially flippant claims that Lucero’s murder would’ve been a "one-day story" elsewhere, the tragedy has brought widespread attention to increased tensions on Long Island. The hatred and disgust by some people against the area’s booming Latino population has apparently been met with a blind eye from authorities. Yesterday’s indictment further shows that incidents like Lucero’s death are unfortunately not rarities:

Jose Perez, a lawyer for LatinoJustice P.R.L.D.E.F., an advocacy group, said the new cases were “the tip of the iceberg” in a pattern of violence against Hispanics, and show that a more aggressive police response to earlier attacks could have prevented Mr. Lucero’s death.

After Mr. Lucero died, many other immigrants came forward to describe attacks. Some had never been reported; others were reported to police at the time, but no one was arrested, in part because language barriers made communication difficult, Mr. Spota said.

Image- ABC News
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, newsday.com, IHT, New York Times, WNYC, ABC News

Daily Headlines: January 14, 2009

* U.S.: In light of the cowardly murder of Marcelo Lucero federal authorities will be investigating alleged mishandling of crimes against Latinos by Suffolk County, New York police.

* Cuba: U.S. President George W. Bush blasted the Castro regime during a "message of hope" he gave to Cubans.

* Mexico: Vatican officials threatened Mexican drug traffickers with excommunication from the Catholic Church for their crimes.

* Bolivia: Film director Oliver Stone “kicked a soccer ball and chewed coca leaves” with Bolivian president Evo Morales as part of an interview for an upcoming documentary.

Image- New York Daily News (“Toddler contributes to makeshift memorial at scene of brutal murder of Marcello Lucero.”)
Online Sources- BBC News, MSNBC, AFP, The Latin Americanist, WNYC

NYC Ecuadorians assaulted in possible hate crime

It was approximately one month ago that an Ecuadorian immigrant was killed by a group of teens on Long Island. The murder of Marcelo Lucero brought to light the dark side of racism being faced by the growing Latino population in New York City’s eastern suburbs.

Now comes word of another sickening assault on Ecuadorians; this time, it was in New York City proper and allegedly involved homophobic and anti-Latino insults:

Investigators said 31-year-old Jose Sucuzhanay was walking home with his brother Romel early Sunday morning when one of them stopped to give the other his coat at the intersection of Kossuth Place and Bushwick Avenue.

That's when investigators said a group of men jumped out of an SUV and beat them with a glass bottle and baseball bat while yelling anti-gay and anti-Latino slurs.

Romel was not seriously hurt, but Jose was taken to the hospital where he is on life support.

"My brother is in critical condition. He has to go through brain surgery. He's okay there. But right now he's not moving, he's not talking, he's in very critical condition. And we hope he will recover," said Sucuzhanay.

Hate crime charges could be leveled against the attackers though that will be the least of their problems should Jose Sucuzhanay die.

It should go without saying that such heinous, cold-blooded assaults are inexcusable whether it be in such a diverse metropolis as New York City or in outlying suburbs. We’ll keep an eye out for any further developments.

Image- The China Post (“People file past the open casket bearing the body of Marcello Lucero at the Congregational Church of Patchogue in Patchogue, N.Y., Saturday, Nov. 15.”)
Sources- The Latin Americanist, NY1, City Room, newsday.com

Rally held for murdered Ecuadorian immigrant

A reported 1000 people attended a rally last night on Long Island to honor recently murdered Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero (image). Chanting “we are all immigrants”, those present at the vigil expressed their disgust at an increasing anti-immigrant sentiment on Suffolk County where the Latino population has boomed over the past decade.

"Many people treat us like animals, like they just want to get rid of us," said one of the demonstrators who also expressed anger at Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy’s initially dismissive response to Lucero’s death.

Meanwhile, a grand jury has indicted seven teens in connection with Lucero’s murder. Hate crime charges may be levied against the accused who police alleged were “looking to beat up anyone who looked Hispanic.” Ironically, one of the accused teens is Latino who is supposedly “distraught” over the crime according to his lawyer.

The crime has received widespread media attention who has also focused on the increasing divide over immigration like the controversy in Farmingville a few years ago. Columnist Ruben Navarrette Jr. expressed his disgust not only at Lucero’s death but at the sickeningly spiteful tone of the immigration debate:

There are things that are so horrible that human beings should never become desensitized to them. Near the top of the list: when someone is killed because of his race, ethnicity, national origin or sexual orientation. That we cannot tolerate.

Nor should we tolerate an immigration debate that turned anti-Hispanic and that some now blame for incidents such as this…

In case you're keeping score at home, Hispanic immigrants are said to be responsible for street crime, traffic congestion, global warming, underperforming schools and crowded hospitals. In fact, recently, they were blamed for the collapse on Wall Street.

Who knew? I realized that Hispanic immigrants are tireless workers who could multitask. But I had no idea that they could -- in between doing our chores -- create so much havoc and misery. Or have so much havoc and misery visited upon them.

Image- ABC News
Sources- WNYC, Gothamist, Newsday.com, CNN, PBS