New York High School Student Pleads Not Guilty to Hate Crimes

In New York, a teenaged high school student pled not guilty to murder, conspiracy and hate crime on November 25th.  The teen was accused of stabbing an Ecuadorean immigrant to death in Riverhead. 

The boy, 17 year old Jeffrey Conroy, stared straight ahead in the court room while his defense attorney, William Keahon, entered the "not guilty" plea.

"I promise that the district attorney's office will not and cannot convict my client, because he is innocent," Keahon said.

Jeffery Conroy was charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime in relation to the death of 37 year old Marcelo Lucero.  Just last week, Conroy and six other Patchogue-Medford High School students were charged with conspiring to attack Lucero and Lucero's friend, Angel Loja.  The teenagers were also charged with criminal offenses for trying to beat another Hispanic man named Hector Sierra before they attacked Lucero.

Two of the teenagers are also facing assault charges as a hate crime in connection with a BB gun attack against another Hispanic man, Marlon Garcia.  The six teenagers pleaded "not guilty" to all of their charges last week.  However, in court yesterday, the teenagers admitted to regularly singling out Hispanics and beating them up.

It is reported that when Lucero was attacked by the boys, he took out his belt and swung it to protect himself.  That is when Conroy took out his knife and allegedly stabbed Lucero in the chest. 

State Supreme Court Justice Robert W. Doyle ordered Conroy held without bail.

If you have been charged with hate crimes in New York, click here to find an experienced criminal defense lawyer!