A Hispanic man has told police he was beaten and robbed in a racially charged attack in a Long Island community where authorities say another Hispanic was killed in a hate crime last fall. Suffolk County police say the latest incident began around 11:30 p.m. Friday.
The victim told investigators three young white men engaged him in a conversation as he was walking down a street in Patchogue. He told police one man hit him in the face and knocked him to the ground, and the three stole cash from him while disparaging his ancestry.
Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero was stabbed to death in Patchogue Nov. 8. Seven teenagers have pleaded not guilty to hate crime and other charges in that attack.
