Posted on December 7, 2011

Boy in Shopping Cart Case Cared More About Shoes than Mom He Nearly Killed, Say Officials

Hellen Freund et al., New York Post, December 7, 2011

The 13-year-old boy who admittedly threw a shopping cart over a fourth-story railing in Harlem–striking a philanthropist mom of two–cared more about his sneakers than the woman he nearly killed, officials revealed yesterday.

“The respondent was more concerned with the condition of his sneakers than with the condition of his victim,” city lawyer Leah Schmelzer said of pint-sized Jeovanni Rosario, 13, whose legal fate in the horrific prank–originally set for decision yesterday–was delayed due to lingering sentencing issues.

Rosario and his even younger partner in crime, Raymond Hernandez, 12, had spent their time at a Harlem precinct “Laughing and joking,” and showed “no empathy or remorse,” following the Oct. 30 tragedy, Schmelzer told Manhattan Family Court Judge Susan Larabee.

“Am I going to be able to get my sneakers back?” Rosario asked as he was led off to detention, a police source said.

Both boys have pleaded guilty to dropping the cart over the railing of a shopping mall despite knowing it could seriously hurt those below. At sentencing they face anywhere from probation up to being jailed until their 18th birthdays.

Victim Marion Hedges had been at the mall purchasing Halloween candy in bulk for disadvantaged children–and her own 13-year-old son watched in helpless horror as she was struck.

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“All we know is that she is out of the hospital and getting rehabilitation,” Rosario’s lawyer, Shahabuddeen Ally, told The Post of Hedges.

“I’m being told only that she is at the point where she has to relearn her name, and other basic functions.”

Rosario is actually quite concerned with her wellbeing, and has written her a letter of regret that says, “I did not mean to hurt you,” and “I hope you feel better,” the lawyer added. The kid feels deep remorse, he said.

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