Jeffrey Conroy, New York inmate 10A2652, born 1991, incarceration intake May 2010 at age 19, scheduled for parole consideration April 2030, with full release November 2033
Manslaughter, Gang Assault, Conspiracy, Attempted Assault as a Hate Crime
In May 2010, the white Long Island teenager convicted of killing a Hispanic immigrant in a 2008 hate crime attack in Patchogue was sentenced to 25 years in prison in a hearing that ended with the teenager’s father leaving the courtroom in a tearful rage.
The teenager, Jeffrey Conroy, then 19, stood next to his lawyer in State Supreme Court as Justice Robert W. Doyle told a courtroom filled with relatives, friends and supporters of both Mr. Conroy and the immigrant, Marcelo Lucero, that the proof of Mr. Conroy’s guilt was “overwhelming” and that he was convicted of “senseless and brutal crimes.”
The 25-year sentence was the longest possible for first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime, the most serious charge Mr. Conroy faced. Moments after the judge spoke, Mr. Conroy’s father, Robert Conroy, 49, a quiet presence in the courtroom during the nearly seven-week trial, stood up and, cursing, shouted that his son was only 17 at the time.
“This is mercy, for crying out loud?” he yelled from the back of the courtroom as he made his way outside surrounded by court officers, who restrained him briefly after he punched the doors or a wall.
Mr. Conroy was found guilty on April 19, 2010 of attacking Mr. Lucero in a train station parking lot in November 2008, one of a series of assaults that prosecutors said Mr. Conroy and six friends carried out as part of an activity that the young men described as “beaner-hopping” or “Mexican-hopping.”
Shortly before the sentencing was announced, Jeffrey Conroy seemed to apologize as he faced the judge. “I’m really sorry for what happened to Mr. Lucero,” he said, adding that every day he wished it never happened.
The defense lawyer, William Keahon, read aloud several of the nearly 100 letters that had been sent to the court from Mr. Conroy’s supporters — coaches, neighbors, and adult and teenage friends who asked for leniency. The letters described Mr. Conroy not as hate filled, but as someone who served as a volunteer mentor and coach to football and lacrosse players.
The letters also noted how Mr. Conroy had numerous Hispanic friends, including the woman he has said he plans to marry, Pamela Suarez, who is Bolivian.
But those sentiments were countered by the emotional words of the victim’s brother and sister.
Mr. Lucero’s younger brother, Joselo Lucero, 35, said that his brother became his role model and father figure after their father died when Joselo was 6. His brother’s death left him distraught, with nightmares and even thoughts of suicide, he said.
He spoke of justice for “the invisibles,” whom he described as the legal and illegal immigrants who come to the United States seeking a better life. “I don’t want this hate to continue,” he said.
Mr. Lucero, 37, a worker at a dry cleaning shop who had come from Gualaceo, Ecuador, was walking with a friend to another friend’s house on the night of the attack. They were surrounded by the seven young men, all students at Patchogue-Medford High School at the time, the authorities said.
After deliberating for four days, a jury found Mr. Conroy guilty of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime and other charges, in connection with Mr. Lucero’s death. He was also found guilty of attempted assaults on three other Hispanic men. On the manslaughter charge, Mr. Conroy faced a minimum of 8 years and a maximum of 25 years.
Last reviewed October 2025
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