Maximum sentence against Marcelo Lucero killer

The teen convicted in the death of an Ecuadorian immigrant in New York will have 25 years in jail to contemplate his crime.

Nineteen-year-old Jeffrey Conroy gave a tearful apology to the family of Marcelo Lucero- the man Conroy was accused of killing during a November 2008 evening of “beaner-jumping” with several other teens. Nevertheless state Supreme Court Justice Robert W. Doyle declared that "the proof was overwhelming" against Conroy and imposed the maximum sentence weeks after Conroy was convicted of manslaughter as a hate crime last month. Though Conroy was acquitted of murder Doyle emphasized that Conroy was guilty of “senseless and brutal crimes” including having assaulted other Latino immigrants on Long Island.

The judge’s decision brought out strong emotions among some of the relatives of both the attacker and the victim:

After the sentence was imposed, Conroy's father, Robert Conroy, shouted an expletive, saying his son was only 17 at the time of the attack. 



The killing shone a national spotlight on race relations on Long Island.



After Conroy was convicted, Lucero's mother, Rosario Lucero, said through a translator that she had forgiven Conroy and would pray for him.

Today’s sentencing comes days after a sixth teen pleaded guilty to hate crime charges related to Lucero’s death. Christopher Overton admitted he accompanied Conroy and five others on the night Lucero was slain and was previously signaled by Conroy as the one who killed Lucero.

In the meantime, police in nearby Peekskill are investigating whether the “brutal beating” of another Ecuadorian represents a hate crime. Much like the community where Lucero was killed, Peekskill has enjoyed a growth in its Latino population in recent years.

Image- New York Times (“Jayson Llivicura, 7, put money into a donation box at a memorial for Marcelo Lucero” back in 2008.)
Online Sources- CNN, The Latin Americanist, Long Island Press, Canadian Press, New York Times, CBS News

Daily Headlines: April 22, 2010

* Puerto Rico: The University of Puerto Rico will close for at least 48 hours after thousands of students went on strike to protest against academic changes and major budget cuts.

* U.S.: While one hate crime murder trial of an Ecuadorian immigrant ended on Long Island another one started in nearby Brooklyn.

* Brazil: The government awarded building rights to the construction of the controversial Belo Monte dam, which has been vehemently opposed by environmentalists and indigenous groups.

* Guatemala: The head of a U.N. commission on Guatemala has called on authorities to do more to combat widespread impunity.

Image – Claridad
Sources- BusinessWeek, New York Times, The Latin Americanist, United Nations, BBC News

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

Weekend Headlines: April 10-11, 2010

* Mexico: Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez became the first Mexican player to sign with prestigious English soccer side Manchester United.

* U.S.: While the Marcelo Lucero trial nears its end on Long Island four suspects were arrested in an alleged bias attack in nearby Staten Island.

* Cuba: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed that the Cuban government doesn’t want to normalize relations with the U.S. since the Castro regime “would then lose all their excuses for what hasn't happened in Cuba in the last 50 years.”

* Costa Rica: China and Costa Rica signed a free trade pact on Thursday that should provide the Central American economy with greater access to the Asian market.

Image – Sky Sports
Online Sources- AFP, LAHT, New York Times, NY1, The Telegraph

Daily Headlines: March 30, 2010

* U.S.: With Cesar Chavez Day being celebrated in a handful of states this week, it’s worth noting that there are preliminary plans for a Hollywood film on the late civil rights and labor activist.

* Honduras: March has been a bleak month for Honduran journalists with at least five members of the media having been murdered.

* Chile: “There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries” after a 6.1 magnitude aftershock shook Chile over the weekend.

* U.S.: In testimony at the Marcelo Lucero murder trial yesterday one of the seven teens accused of participating in his death described how he and his cohorts spent that fateful November 2008 night going “beaner hopping.”

Image – Los Angeles Daily News (“Hundreds turn out during the 17th Annual Cesar E. Chavez March for Justice and Cultural Arts Festival that started with a rally at Brand Park in Mission Hills and ended at Ritchie Valens Park in Pacoima CA. March 28,2010.”)
Online Sources- Reuters, BusinessWeek, Herald Sun, The Latin Americanist, New York Times

Daily Headlines: March 26, 2010

* Latin America: Chilean José Miguel Insulza was reelected secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Wednesday yet the Christian Science Monitor wonders if “the world’s oldest regional group is still relevant?”

* Argentina: Speaking of the OAS the body may provide a significant role in the dispute between Argentina and Britain over oil drilling near the Falkland Islands.

* U.S.: According to a prosecutor’s witness at the hate crime murder trial of Marcelo Lucero one of the assailants allegedly taunted him by saying “you come to this country to take our money from us.”

* Venezuela: The government’s latest plan to counter the country’s energy woes is to declare all of the upcoming Holy Week as a national holiday.

Image – ABC.es
Online Sources- UPI, LAHT, New York Times, The Latin Americanist, Christian Science Monitor

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

Daily Headlines: March 9, 2010

* U.S.: Jury selection in the hate crime murder of Marcelo Lucero has been anything but easy based on this New York Times piece.

* Mexico: Why was the late Ricardo Montalban left out of the "In Memoriam" tribute at Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony?

* Latin America: According to a recent Inter-American Development Bank Latin America’s economy is expected to grow at least by three percent this year.

* Colombia: The political tug-of-war between Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and the FARC guerillas has delayed the release of pair of soldiers kidnapped in 1998.

Image- New York Daily News (“Toddler contributes to makeshift memorial at scene of brutal murder of Marcello Lucero.”)

Online Sources- Mercopress, MTV News, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, New York Times

Daily Headlines: February 22, 2010

* Nicaragua: The country’s very strict ban on all forms of abortion is facing a critical legal challenge from a cancer-stricken woman.

* U.S.: A third suspect has pled guilty in the murder of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero in 2008.

* Panama: Lawyers for former Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega played what may be their last chance to try to prevent his extradition to France.

* Argentina: Argentina’s government is seeking regional support in its dispute with Britain over the sovereignty of the Falklands Islands.

Image – CNN (“Nicaraguan women hold up signs shaped like the female form during a 2008 protest against the anti-abortion law.”)
Online Sources- Washington Post, New York Times, LAHT, CNN, The Latin Americanist

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: April 3, 2009

* Mexico: After Wednesday’s embarrassing 3-1 loss to Honduras, Sven-Groan Eriksson was fired as head coach of Mexico’s men's national soccer team.

* Latin America: President Barack Obama pledged $448 billion in food aid to developing countries such as those in Latin America.

* U.S.: “I’ve come to the United States so justice is done…They killed a human being who was important for us,” said the mother of slain Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero in an interview.

* Honduras: The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for a full investigation into the murder of a radio journalist at the hands of gunmen.

Image- The Telegraph
Online Sources- BBC Sport, AFP, LAHT, Committee to Protect Journalists

NYPD arrest duo in Jose Sucuzhanay murder (includes update)

Update (March 1):

A lawyer for Keith Phoenix claimed that his client acted in self-defense over the murder of Jose Sucuzhanay.

Jay Schwitzman said that Pheonix and co-defendant Hakim Scott attacked Sucuzhanay and his brother when one of them appeared to reach for a gun. Police officials and a lawyer for the Sucuzhanay family rejected those claims. (Links via New York Times and AP).

Update (February 28):

Police yesterday arrested the second suspect wanted in the death of Jose Sucuzhanay.

Keith Phoenix was was arraigned Saturday morning on charges of second degree murder as a hate crime and is currently being held without bail.

"So I killed someone-that makes me a bad guy?...What's the big deal? That guy is dead." These were the chilling and remorseless words reportedly uttered by Pheonix during his interrogation yesterday according to the NYPD. (Links via CNN, NY1, and Gothamist).

Original Post:

New York City police arrested a man suspected in the December murder of Jose Sucuzhanay.

Hakim Scott, was charged with 2nd degree murder as a hate crime in the crime which took place in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. According to police, Scott and a second man- Keith Phoenix- assaulted Sucuzhanay and his brother Romel while shouting homophobic and anti-Latino insults. The attack was absolutely vicous and cruel:

Mr. Scott approached Jose Sucuzhanay and smashed a beer bottle over the back of his head, the police said, and then chased Romel Sucuzhanay.

Mr. Phoenix then took an aluminum baseball bat from the rear of the vehicle and struck Jose repeatedly on his shoulder, ribs and back until he fell, the police said.

“At that point Phoenix struck Jose several more times, full force, with crushing blows to his head,” said Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, who announced the arrest at a news conference at Police Headquarters on Wednesday evening with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Charles J. Hynes, the Brooklyn district attorney. Once in custody, Mr. Scott “made a full confession,” Mr. Kelly said.

Authorities released the following video of Phoenix and Scott paying the toll at the RFK Bridge while laughing it up a mere nineteen minutes after the Sucuzhanay attack.

Police are still searching for Phoenix; anyone with information is asked to call the CrimeStoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.

Sucuzhanay’s murder was condemned not only in New York but also in his native Ecuador. His death came weeks after the killing of Marcelo Lucero on Long Island.

Online Sources- CNN, New York Times, The Latin Americanist, ABC News, New York Daily News

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

Report: Staten Island assaulters sought minorities

What is it with this rash of Latinos being targeted by young bigots in the New York City area?

First there was the anti-Latino attack and murder of Ecuadorian migrant Marcelo Lucero by a group of Long Island youths. Then there was the heinous assault and killing of Jose Sucuzhanay a few weeks later.

Now there’s this disturbing piece of news:

Two white Staten Island teens already facing hate crime charges for attacking a Muslim teen the night Barack Obama was elected have been linked to another bias attack that left another victim in a coma…

Ronald Forte, 38, the father of five children, was wearing a hooded sweatshirt because it was raining on the morning of Nov. 5 when he was spotted by Nicolleti and Garaventa, according to sources.

The pair was allegedly trolling a predominately black and Hispanic Staten Island neighborhood looking for victims, sources said.

They targeted Forte because with his head covered with the hood, they thought he was a black man. Forte was run down and left in the gutter on Blackfort Ave. around 2:30 a.m. – [ed. emphasis added]

To slightly paraphrase the words of Shakespeare “what fools these mortals be.”

(Hat tip: Gothamist).

Image- Daily Intel (The ubiquitous Staten Island Ferry).
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Gothamist, New York Daily News, Quotations Page

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