MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A Westchester teen who went on an armed robbery spree in Central Park last year was sentenced to up to four years in prison Tuesday.
Jesse Wasserman, 18, apologized to the three people from whom he and his accused gunman partner Alexander Greene swiped a wallet, cell phone, debit card, ring, ID and bicycle on Aug. 4 and 5, 2010, prosecutors said.
"I am very sorry for what happened to these innocent people. I was not in my right mind," the troubled teen told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber on Tuesday. Wasserman appeared in court handcuffed and with a unkempt beard.
Wasserman pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery on Aug. 16 and was promised 1 1/3 to four years in state prison by a Manhattan judge. The judge also granted him "youthful offender status," meaning his criminal record will be sealed after he serves his time.
"I would like to thank your honor for giving me a second chance at life by giving me a youthful offender status," Wasserman added, as his mother sobbed in the gallery nearby.
Wasserman admitted to demanding money and valuables from three victims in the park and then trying to flee on a stolen bicycle.
The case against Wasserman's co-defendant, Greene, remains open. Greene allegedly brandished a gun during the spree.
On Tuesday, the mother of one of the victims addressed the court.
Lynn Jawitz's son Barry Weinstein, 20, had his Velcro wallet containing $3 stolen, along with a seven-year-old cell phone. She asked the judge to give Wasserman the maximum sentence of 25 years.
"As far as I'm concerned these guys are terrorists. You're no less of a terrorist because you're not the guy who held the gun," Jawitz said after the sentencing.
"But for the grace of God, I could have had a dead kid," she said.
Greene is scheduled to reappear in court on Sept. 27.
