Nov 8, 2009 3:03 pm US/Eastern
Patchogue Marks Anniversary Of Lucero Murder
PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Police escorted the seven suspects accused of beating Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero to death in Patchogue on Nov. 8, 2008.
CBS
Dozens of people are holding a candlelight vigil on Long Island to mark the one-year anniversary of the stabbing death of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero.
Lucero was fatally attacked by what prosecutors called a "lynch mob" near the Patchogue train station last Nov. 8.
Seven teenagers have been charged in the slaying. This week, one of the suspects pleaded guilty to conspiracy and hate crime charges and agreed to testify against the others.
On Saturday, the day before the anniversary of the killing, nearly 100 people sang, held hands and prayed at the train station. Lucero's brother, sister, mother and other relatives were among them.
A picture of Lucero, along with a peace sign, was placed on the ground where he died.
The Lucero slaying attracted worldwide headlines. A U.S. Justice Department probe of hate crimes on eastern Long Island has focused particularly on police response.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC, sent Spanish speaking researchers to Patchogue to investigate allegations of other bias attacks in the area where Lucero was fatally stabbed. What it found was quote, "frightening."
Its report is based on interviews with more than 70 Latino immigrants in recent months. It says that many of them reported being beaten with baseball bats.
The report finds the violence is part of a disturbing trend, in which "Latin immigrants in Suffolk County are regularly harassed, taunted and pelted with objects hurled from cars. They are frequently run off the road while riding bicycles, and many report being beaten with baseball bats and other objects."
But former Mayor Franklin Whitey Leavandosky says there's no serious problem in Patchogue, only a series of unfortunate isolated incidents.
"I think it goes to idle hands, idle minds of teenagers that have no respect for their fellow man," said Leavandosky on Wednesday.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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