Documentary About Marcelo Lucero Tragedy Premieres Sunday

On the heels of the fourth anniversary of the fatal stabbing of Marcelo Lucero, a new feature-length documentary on the tragedy is set to premiere at at the Hamptons Take 2 Film Festival this weekend. 

Deputized, according to a press release from Seedworks Films, exposes how the adolescent "game" of so called "beaner-hopping"–a term used to describe the ritual of attacking Latinos for sport–"was ignored for at least half a decade by Suffolk County police and officials, resulting in the fatal stabbing of Lucero, the devastation of 8 families—the Lucero family and the 7 boys’ families—and a community’s belief in itself."

Lucero, an Ecuadorean immigrant, was stabbed near the Patchogue train station shortly before midnight on Nov. 8, 2008. A group of teenagers attacked Lucero, with one of them, Jeffrey Conroy, fatally stabbing the 37-year-old. Conroy was convicted of manslaughter as a hate crime and is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence. 

Deputized, which was produced and directed by Long Island native Susan Hagedorn, includes interviews with Lucero's brother Joselo, Bob Conroy, the father of Jeffrey Conroy, and Patchogue Village Mayor Paul Pontieri. 

Pontieri is featured in the trailer of the film. In it he states: "On the morning of the 8th, I thought I knew everything. On the morning of the 9th, I realized I knew very little."

Watch the full trailer here.