2 NYC men face trial in Ecuadorean immigrant death

By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Two New York City men face trial on charges of beating two Ecuadorean immigrants - one fatally - while yelling slurs.

Opening statements are expected Tuesday, one day after a teenager was convicted of manslaughter in an unrelated New York hate crime case involving an Ecuadorean.

Hakim Scott and Keith Phoenix are charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime in the death of Jose Sucuzhanay (soo-KOO'-suh-neye). They're also charged with assaulting his brother, Romel Sucuzhanay.

Prosecutors say Scott and Phoenix hurled anti-gay and anti-Hispanic slurs during the 2008 attack in Brooklyn. The brothers had been walking arm-in-arm to keep warm.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty. Phoenix says he acted in self-defense.