Nov 14, 2008 1:24 pm US/Eastern
7 L.I. Teens Accused Of Hate Crime Go Before Judge
High Passion, Emotion Converge At Central Islip Courthouse
Hispanic Groups Call For Harsher Charges, Family & Friends Of Accused Defend Motives
By CBS 2's Carolyn Costello
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Seven high school students from Patchogue and Medford are in serious trouble, accused of participating in a racial bias attack that left aq 37-year-old Ecuadorian immigrant dead.
CBS
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Marcello Lucero, 37, was stabbed to death in what police believe to be a "brutal murder motivated by racial bias."
CBS
The seven Long Island teenagers accused of killing a Hispanic man are going before a judge inside a packed Suffolk County courtroom. The brutal murder that police have determined to be motivated by racial bias has sparked a passionate response from all sides.
CBS 2 was at the courthouse on Friday, where many of the members of the audience were there to support the accused teens.
Prosecutors say the Patchogue-Medford High School students were motivated by hate when they attacked and killed a Hispanic man in Patchogue Saturday night.
The charges - including first degree manslaughter as a hate crime against senior and star athlete Jeffrey Conroy - have brought issues of race and immigration to the forefront of the community.
On Friday, friends and neighbors of the accused teenagers spoke out.
"I feel like this was self-defense. They would never do this…I would never expect this out of them," said Medford resident Brittney Facilla.
They continued to say that race is in a fact a major issue at their Patchogue-Medford schools.
"There are a lot of different groups at our school. Some don't like Hispanics, some do," said Matthew Sisco.
But they say it wasn't an issue for the seven popular well liked teenagers accused of the heinous crime.
"It's not a hate crime...they hang out with Spanish people, black people, everyone," Facilla added.
A candlelight vigil is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday night at the scene of the crime in Patchogue.
Meanwhile, Ecuadorean officials are calling for charges against one of the teenagers accused of fatally stabbing Marcelo Lucero to be upgraded to second-degree murder.
Jorge Lopez, Ecuador's consul general in Queens, calls the charges against the 17-year-old teen "very weak." The teen has been arrested and charged with manslaughter as a hate crime.
The consul-general is also investigating whether civil rights charges can be brought against the teenager.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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