Jeff Conroy, seen here in front was sentenced to 25 years for the hate crime murder of Marcelo Lucero. This future "pogie bait" will lose the arrogance once he arrives at Fishkill or Sing Sing, one would imagine.
Finally, the healing can start for the family of Marcelo Lucero, the Ecuadorean immigrant who was stabbed to death by Jeff Conroy and crew in 2008. Conroy and friends were out for a night of “beaner hopping” in Long Island, when they mistook Lucero for a Mexican and stabbed him to death.
Our friends at LONG ISLAND WINS have provided excellent and continuous coverage of this hate crime since the day it happened, right through trial and sentencing. Here’s what Ted Hessen has to say about the outcome.
Jeffrey Conroy, convicted this April of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime in the killing of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero, received the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison this afternoon at criminal court in Riverhead.
Before issuing the verdict, Justice Robert W. Doyle spoke favorably of the jury’s decision to convict Conroy.
“The proof of the defendant’s guilt, in my opinion was overwhelming,” Doyle said. “The selection of victims in these crimes based on their ethnicity is most disturbing.”
In addition to the 25-year sentence for first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime, Conroy received a 25-year sentence for first-degree gang assault as a hate crime, the maximum permitted.Additionally, Conroy was sentenced to a maximum of 4 years for conspiracy related to the Lucero killing, and three sentences of a maximum of 7 years for attempted assault charges related to attacks on Angel Loja, Hector Sierra, and Octavio Cordova.
All of the sentences will run concurrently, Justice Doyle said, which means that the longest amount of time that Conroy will spend in prison will be 25 years.
After Doyle finished reading the sentences, but while he was still on the bench, the defendant’s father, Robert Conroy, stood up and shouted angrily as he left the courtroom.
“He was fucking 17,” Conroy shouted. “This is mercy for crying out loud? Jesus fucking Christ.”
After a moment of hesitation, court officers moved towards Conroy and walked him out of the courtroom, but not before he pounded his fists on the doors leading out of court.
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And Patrick Young Esq. has some thoughts on the outcome of the Conroy trial.
Today was the last time Long Islanders will see Jeff Conroy for at least two decades.
When I learned while I was driving out to Riverhead that Conroy had received 25 years for the killing of Marcelo Lucero, I felt relieved. Yesterday’s news that Judge Doyle had announced that Chris Overton, who had been involved in the deaths of two men, would not serve more than seven years for his part in the Lucero killing worried me. I wondered if a similarly light penalty would be meted out to Conroy.
Defense lawyers I knew said it was not unusual for someone convicted of manslaughter to receive just 12 years in jail.
What message would that send to other young men in Suffolk, out for a night of fun at the expense of Patchogue’s Latino community?
But there was a lot working against Conroy. First, while the New York Times once portrayed him as a good kid, the reality, apart from his racist attacks, was different.
As Ted Hesson wrote earlier today:
On May 10, 2008, Conroy was arrested for punching a young man in the face and head, O’Donnell said. And in July 2008, he was a person of interest—along with Jose Pacheco, another Lucero attacker—regarding slashed tires at a Hyundai dealership in Medford.
From 2006-2008, Conroy had 24 disciplinary infractions at school, for a variety of offensives including cutting class and using foul language with teachers.
And we all remember how Conroy lied when he took the stand to defend himself, concocting a story in which he portrayed himself as a non-participant in the attack and pinning the blame on Chris Overton.
When a judge decides a sentence, one factor he looks at is remorse. How can a man show remorse when he says, in the face of overwhelming evidence, that he did not commit the crime.
Until Conroy faces up to what he did, and tells those of his backers still deluded by his lies that he was a hate killer, he will be denied parole.
And until Suffolk’s leaders face up to what they did to foster the climate of fear for immigrants, they will not even begin to cure the sickness in the county.
On my way out of the Riverhead courtroom I overheard Conroy’s attorney say that Suffolk’s leadership thinks that sending Conroy to jail will end the problem. He said that “Suffolk County has to do something to address this hatred against immigrants.”
Amen.
We totally agree Patrick and thanks for all the good work.
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- National Hispanic Group Calls for “Brisenia’s Law” To Fight Domestic Terrorism
- Appeal filed in Arizona Supreme Court challenging Minuteman Shawna Fordes death sentence
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Rosc