4 teens sentenced in N.Y. hate crime stabbing

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — Three teenagers who admitted targeting Hispanics for violence were sentenced today to seven-year prison terms for their roles in the 2008 killing of an Ecuadorean immigrant, and a fourth teen who had met the others on the night of the killing received a six-year sentence.

The killing focused the national debate over immigration on New York's Suffolk County and prompted an ongoing U.S. Justice Department probe of how the police on Long Island respond to hate crimes.

Anthony Hartford, Jordan Dasch and Jose Pacheco, all 19, had each pleaded guilty to gang assault, conspiracy and attempted assault as a hate crime, admitting they had participated in an ongoing campaign of attacks on Hispanics, culminating in the Nov. 8, 2008, stabbing death of Marcelo Lucero.

A fourth teen, Christopher Overton, pleaded guilty to the same charges but received a maximum of six years. State Supreme Court Justice Robert Doyle did not explain his reason for Overton's lighter sentence, though Overton did not participate in earlier attacks.