WELL ‘ARMED’: Family and friends in Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday signal their support for a whimpering Francisco Reyes (above), who mowed down Ariel Russo, 4.
WELL ‘ARMED’: Family and friends in Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday signal their support for a whimpering Francisco Reyes, who mowed down Ariel Russo, 4 (inset). (
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All in favor of springing the teenager who killed a 4-year-old girl while speeding away from a minor traffic stop, say “Aye.”
Friends and relatives of the 17-year-old boy who crushed tragic Ariel Russo against a building on the Upper West Side turned out in force at his bail hearing yesterday, watching from the audience as he sobbed at the defense table, and raising their hands high to let a judge know of their presence.
The show of support worked: Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro set bail at just $25,000 for Francisco Reyes, low enough for his family to post, his lawyer said.
“The defendant has strong community ties,” Carro said, noting the four rows of hands raised by family members and supporters in a crowded courtroom.
Across the aisle, the victim’s supporters erupted in outrage.
“No! That’s too low!” a family member shouted in court as the mother, Sofia Russo, 26, burst into tears at the news that Reyes would be sprung from jail in the manslaughter case.
“My daughter is dead and this guy is free,” distraught dad Alan Russo, 27, told reporters after his still-sobbing wife was led out of court. while wailing, “I just want to go home.”
“He’s going to be home for the summer,” the dad complained of the teen charged with taking his daughter’s life while fleeing from a police traffic stop on June 4.
“He’s going to play video games. He’s going eat his mother’s food. I’m never going to have my daughter back,” the dad told reporters.
Reyes has been held without bail in the three weeks since his arrest. Prosecutors fought yesterday to keep him there.
“He chose to flee,” Assistant District Attorney Scott Lee told the judge, referring to the two times cops say Reyes attempted to escape just before and then during the incident.
Reyes, who had only a learner’s permit and was not allowed to drive alone, had taken his parents’ car to school that morning. He later told authorities that he panicked and fled when they pulled him over for driving recklessly on West 89th Street. That’s when he crashed into little Ariel and her grandmother Katia Gutierrez, who was seriously injured.
“This case is extremely strong,” the prosecutor argued. “There’s a strong likelihood that this defendant will be convicted.”
But the judge sided with defense lawyer Martin Schmukler, who argued that the four rows of Reyes’ own family members — who sat across the aisle from the victim’s family and her school teacher — demonstrate that the teen has strong family ties.
“This was just a kid who panicked,” the lawyer said of Reyes.
In setting bail at $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond, the judge explained that the teen had taken “full responsibility” in speaking to cops and prosecutors after his arrest.
“Sofia Russo, the mother, was so upset that she broke out hysterical, feeling it’s just not fair,” Russo family lawyer Sanford Rubenstein said. “The defendant fled the police when he was first stopped, and then fled a second time.”
The judge set Aug. 7 as Reyes’ next court date and warned, “Certainly, don’t get behind the wheel of a car.”