MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — An aspiring actor charged with trashing the glass front doors of the Ed Sullivan Theater where the "Late Show with David Letterman" is taped has been indicted, prosecutors said Friday.
Wannabe thespian James Whittemore, 22, of Harlem, has reportedly admitted to vandalizing the theater, at 1693 Broadway, Sunday night in a drunken stupor after a night of boozing and karaoke.
Whittemore was charged with burglary and criminal mischief and arraigned Monday. He learned of the indictment at Manhattan Criminal Court Friday, but the exact charges are sealed until his next court date on Aug. 4.
The suspect did not speak to reporters after the hearing, but his family defended him as "a good kid."
"It's not like him at all. He's very scared. It's just all overwhelming to him," a relative said in court Friday.
Whittemore has reportedly apologized for wreaking about $7,500 in damage early Sunday morning when he allegedly smashed through the doors of the Broadway landmark.
Once inside the lobby, he allegedly trashed "pictures, fans, telephones, and printers among other property," and urinated on the door, according to prosecutors.
"He's deserving of treatment," Williams said. "That's what what the situation under these circumstances calls for."
Prosecutors said Monday that they believe he was intoxicated, but do not know how badly.
Whittemore is free on $6,000 bail that was posted earlier this week and has moved back in with his family in Connecticut for the time being, relatives said Friday.
Just days after Whittemore's antics, an alleged "copycat" vandal smashed the same doors with a newspaper box.
Alvin Moore, 42, of Sebring, Fla., was a performer who allegedly resented all the attention the earlier attack had garnered. Moore was arraigned on criminal mischief, trespassing and harassment charges Thursday and is due back in court July 19.
