New York teens accused of hate crimes

NEW YORK, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Prosecutors in Suffolk County, N.Y., allege six area teenagers were responsible for a series of violent attacks on Hispanic men for fun.

County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota alleged in Suffolk County Criminal Court this week that six teenage defendants committed multiple counts of gang assault and hate crimes by attacking Hispanic men on Long Island, The New York Times said Friday.

A seventh suspect, 17-year-old Jeffrey Conroy, also was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter as a hate crime in the Nov. 8 death of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero.

Prosecutors allege that Lucero was fatally stabbed by one of the defendants after the teenage group finished taunting and beating the Hispanic man.

That same night, a varying number of the defendants allegedly took part in a physical attack on another Hispanic man and shot a third Hispanic man with a BB gun, prosecutors said.

The Times said five of the six youths arraigned Thursday were granted bail or bond, while a sixth, Christopher Overton, was denied bail due to a prior felony conviction.

Conroy's arraignment is scheduled for Monday.