Sucuzhañay case goes to the jury

More than two weeks after the trial of the men who allegedly beat José Sucuzhañay to death began, a Brooklyn jury will now decide the fate of one of them.

The panel began to deliberate the fate of Hakim Scott earlier today; a second jury is expected to receive the case against Keith Phoenix tomorrow.

Prosecutors contend Scott and Phoenix shouted anti-gay and anti-Latino slurs at Sucuzhañay as they beat him with a baseball bat and broken bottles near the intersection of Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place on Dec. 7, 2008. Romel Sucuzhañay, who was walking arm and arm with his brother at the time of the attack, was among those who took the stand during the trial.

Both defendants face a possible life sentence if convicted.