Man Gets 7 Years In Prison Over $2 Subway Fare
A man got 7 years in prison over a $2 subway fare after police in New York stopped him for fare-beating and found an illegal handgun.
The Manhattan PATH rider received his sentence on Monday, getting 7 years plus another 3 1/2 years parole. Cops had found the man, 37-year-old Ruben Sanabria, with a loaded .40 Smith & Wesson last March, The Associated Press noted.
Police saw Sanabria hop over the subway turnstile, and, when they frisked him, they found the handgun in his waistband leading to 7 years in prison over the $2 subway fare he skipped out on.
Sanabria pleaded guilty to possessing a weapon in the second degree and could have gone to prison for up to 15 years, the New York Post reported.
While 7 years in prison over a $2 fare sounds harsh, Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. said he can’t afford to have leniency when it comes to illegal guns.
“This defendant illegally carried a loaded semiautomatic firearm into a public transportation system used by thousands of people every day,” Vance said. “Preventing gun violence is one of my top priorities as district attorney, and I will make sure that this office continues to seek strong sentences for crimes involving firearms.”
Fare jumping is a serious problem in New York as well. Last year, the MTA estimated that it’s losing up to $100 million each year from people evading their fares, Transportation Nation noted. MTA Head Joe Lhota worked with NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly to step up police patrols, using uniform and undercover officers, to find people skipping on their fares.
What do you think about the man who gets 7 years in prison over his $2 fare?
