Jeffrey Conroy, the Long Island teen who was convicted of manslaughter as a hate crime for fatally stabbing an Ecuadorean immigrant in 2008, was sentenced to 25 years in prison yesterday. His father raged at the at the sentence, running out of the courtroom and yelling, "He was f---ing 17. This is mercy for crying out loud? Jesus, f---ing, Christ! Jesus Christ!" more ›

Jeffrey Conroy, the swastika-tattooed 19-year-old found guilty of manslaughter for killing an Ecuadorian immigrant, is showing remorse for his crimes, and his family says he's actually a stand up guy. According to them he has lots of Hispanic friends, listens to hip hop and is even dating a Bolivian girl. more ›

Yesterday, a jury found a 19-year-old guilty of manslaughter as a hate crime for the 2008 stabbing death of an Ecuadorian immigrant. Jeffrey Conroy, who was acquitted of second-degree murder, will face a minimum of eight years in prison and a maximum of 25 years for killing Marcelo Lucero, during what Conroy's friends described as "beaner hopping," when they would target Hispanics for beatings and other attacks. Jury members said that they didn't believe Conroy's claim that another teen killed Lucero. Juror Linda Giani said, "It was extremely emotional. You have a young boy's life in your hands. You also have the family that's grieving for the loss of a son." more ›

A Long Island jury found Jeffrey Conroy, 19, guilty of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime for the 2008 stabbing of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero. Conroy and his friend were allegedly "beaner hopping" and had been on a weeklong hate crime spree. While he was found not guilty of murder as a hate crime, Conroy, who claimed one of his friends actually killed Lucero, was found guilty of first-degree gang assault. According to Newsday (subscription required), he faces a "maximum of 25 years and a minimum of 8 years." Six of Conroy's co-defendants are still awaiting trial; four of them who testified against him pleaded guilty to gang assault while the other two pleaded not guilty. more ›

Jeffrey Conroy, the 19-year-old Long Island resident accused of killing immigrant Marcelo Lucero (pictured) in a 2008 hate crime attack, told a courtroom today that he was just holding a knife for the real killer: "[Christopher Overton] said, ‘Jeff, I think I just stabbed the guy in the shoulder. I really cannot get in trouble with this. Can you please take the knife?’" Newsday reports that the judge allowed the testimony because it would allow the jury insight into Conroy's "state of mind" but he told jurors not to weigh the "truth or falsity" of the testimony. Conroy, who faces charges including second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter as hate crime, also said he lied to police in his statement confessing the crime. more ›

Yesterday the lead detective investigating the death of Marcelo Lucero testified that then-18-year-old Jeffrey Conroy signed a statement saying he'd stabbed the Ecuadorean immigrant. Det. John McLeer questioned the teen just hours after the crime occurred in 2008, reports the Times, and is expected to be the last witness to take the stand in the Long Island hate crime case. He's the third person to claim that Conroy stated he stabbed 37-year-old Lucero, after going out with friends looking for Hispanics to terrorize. A lawyer for the boy—who's pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder as a hate crime and first-degree manslaughter—claimed he told friends the stabbing was an accident. To that the detective responded, "I believe a person's actions speak their intent."
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Yesterday in court a Long Island teen candidly described the much-talked about but little-understood practice of "beaner hopping" that led to the hate crime death of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero. “It’s when you go out and you look for a Hispanic to beat up,” 19-year-old Nicholas Hausch told a packed courtroom, recalling several sprees of name-calling, BB-gun shooting and beating. In his testimony, Hausch testified that his friend Jeffrey Conroy told him he'd stabbed Lucero, reports CityRoom. “Imagine if I get away with this,” the Swastika-tatooed teen allegedly boasted to his peers. more ›

Seven Long Island teens are accused in the fatal beating of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero, but one has been singled out as the killer. Nineteen-year-old Nicholas Hausch took the stand today testifying against Jeffrey Conroy, the only one of the boys accused of murder and manslaughter as a hate crime, according to the AP. "[Conroy] told me he stabbed him," Hausch said in court, remembering how his friend refused to dispose of the bloody weapon. more ›

A suspect in a Long Island hate crime got a prison-style Swastika tattoo after watching the HBO series Oz, according to court testimony. “I didn’t ask about it,” said Keith Brunjes, the 18-year-old who administered it with ink, a needle and thread. “He wanted it.” His "best friend" Jeffrey Conroy is the first of seven teens to go on trial for the fatal stabbing of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero in late 2008. The group is thought to have routinely terrorized Hispanics for sport in a practice dubbed "beaner hopping." more ›

Before the stabbing attack that would claim their final victim, 37-year-old Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero, the Long Island gang known as "The Caucasian Crew" had been out on "beaner jumping" missions for almost a week leading up to it. The Patchogue attacks included knocking one man unconscious after sucker punching him in the mouth and shooting another with a BB gun. Police believe that there are more victims as well who have not come forward out of fears for their safety. Earlier this week, charges against the Caucasian Crew ringleader, Jeffrey Conroy, who is accused of stabbing Lucero were upped from manslaughter to murder. more ›