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Jeffrey Conroy, 19, was convicted Monday of manslaughter as a hate crime in the November 2008 death of Marcelo Lucero.

After deliberating for four days, jurors found Conroy not guilty of murder, the most serious charge he faced.

He was convicted of gang assault and conspiracy, and assaults on three other Hispanic men on Long Island.

Prosecutors say Conroy and his friends were randomly targeting Hispanic men when they came upon Lucero in Patchogue.

Four of Conroy's co-defendants have pleaded guilty to lesser charges and two are awaiting trial.

Prosecutors say they believe the jury delivered a fair and tough decision that was focused on Conroy's intent, with little doubt as to whether he killed Lucero.

“The evidence in the case could have gone either way, the jury chose manslaughter in the first degree; we accept that verdict,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota. “Again, I think it's a fair verdict."

But many members of the community feel the lesser verdict is sending the wrong message.

"This is a green light to the hate crimes that are going to keep going up in the country,” said Walter Since of the Ecuadorian Alliance. “The statistics are showing and this is one proof, what Long Island is doing is sending the wrong message to the country. These crimes should stop and they had the power to do that. They didn't do it.”

Conroy faces eight to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced next month.

Meanwhile, jury selection continues in the trial of two men accused of beating Ecuadorian immigrant Jose Sucuzhañay to death in Brooklyn.

Prosecutors say Keith Phoenix and Hakim Scott attacked Sucuzhañay and his brother in 2008 in Bushwick.