By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A career criminal caught on video shoving an elderly Harlem grandmother and swiping her gold cross was sentenced to three years in prison Tuesday.
Arnel Munoz, 35, smirked and did not offer an apology when he was sentenced at Manhattan Supreme Court to prison and five years probation.
Munoz pleaded guilty to attempted robbery on Nov. 9. He has a history of 16 criminal convictions, including one for arson, and a variety of misdemeanor drug offenses.
His victim, 87-year-old Margarita Fuentes, was walking along East 121st Street on June 5 when the surveillance video shows Munoz grabbing an item from her hands and then knocking her over. He then came back and tried to help her up.
Fuentes, who said she has 17 grandchildren, helped authorities by identifying Munoz in a lineup when he was arrested about one month after the crime.
"I didn't rob no one," Munoz told police when he was arrested July 9, according to court papers.
Fuentes, who suffered a bruised knee, told reporters at the time that she was terrified by the ordeal.
