Kids who injured woman in shopping cart toss may not get jail time
(CBS) NEW YORK - The two young boys who confessed to dropping a shopping cart onto mom Marion Hedges in a Harlem shopping plaza may not go to jail.
The New York Post reports Manhattan Family Court Judge Susan Larabee received the sentencing recommendations during court appearances on Thursday for 13-year-old Jeovanni Rosario and 12-year-old Raymond Hernandez.
On Oct. 30, the two boys pushed a shopping cart off a four story drop down onto Hedges at the East River Plaza Shopping Center. Hedges, a real-estate agent, was at the plaza with her 13-year-old buying candy for underprivileged kids.
The 47-year-old was in a medically induced coma for a period of time after the cart fell on her. She will need months of rehabilitation, her husband said. Hedges was technically dead at the scene when she was struck but was brought back to life by a doctor who happened to be nearby.
A lawyer for Rosario proposed placing him on a single-parent foster home where he could go to school.
"It's a calculated risk, but I have faith in this kid," the boy's attorney said.
Larabee appeared to agree with the attorney's recommendation. He could be back home in a year if he stays out of trouble, Rosario's lawyer said.
Probation officials also recommended that Hernandez be sentenced to probation.
"He was extremely remorseful," said Probation Officer Genee Bogans
The officer said Hernandez told her that he and Rosario together thought up the plan to push the cart off an elevated walkway.
Larabee could have placed both boys in a juvenile facility for up to 18 months after they pleaded guilty to second-degree assault.
Hernandez is due back in court next Wednesday while Rosario will make another court appearance on Feb. 3.