HOMELESS MAN SENTENCED TO A MAXIMUM TERM OF UP TO FOUR YEARS IN PRISON FOR VANDALIZING CARS IN THE RIVERDALE SECTION OF THE BRONX

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that 35 year-old Isidoro Ruiz, a homeless man, has been sent to state prison for up to four years for vandalizing cars in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.

Bronx Criminal Court Judge Joseph Dawson sentenced Ruiz to a term of two to four years imprisonment on felony charges of criminal mischief and auto stripping. Ruiz was also sentenced to a concurrent term of one year in jail after he pled guilty to one count of bail jumping in the 3rd degree, a class "A" misdemeanor offense.

Ruiz pled guilty, in August 2002, to one count of Criminal mischief in the 3rd degree and one count of Auto stripping in the 2nd degree, both class "E" felony offenses.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Ruiz was sentenced to an eighteen-month, in-patient drug treatment program as an alternative to incarceration. Completion of the program was mandatory in order for Ruiz to avoid imprisonment, however, he participated in the program for less than nine months. The judge issued an arrest warrant when Ruiz failed to appear in court, on June 18, 2003, for a hearing to assess his progress in the program. Failure to complete the treatment program also resulted in the filing of a bail jumping charge against Ruiz.

Ruiz was arrested on August 7, 2003 after being observed walking along a street in Riverdale. A police officer assigned to the 50th Precinct, who had arrested Ruiz on a prior occasion, requested a computer check of outstanding warrants. Ruiz was taken into custody immediately when the officer learned that Ruiz was wanted for bail jumping.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney William Zelenka, Deputy Chief of the Arson / Economic Crime Bureau.