Maniac may have allegedly grabbed 6-year-old NYC boy — but he didn’t toss him on head: lawyer
A nut may have allegedly tried to kidnap a 6-year-old boy on Coney Island over the weekend — but at least he didn’t drop him on his head as claimed, the suspect’s lawyer argued to a judge Tuesday.
Jonathan Robalino, 36 — who is charged with snatching little Rah Shem “Rah Rah” Gantt while he strolled with his parents in the Brooklyn neighborhood Sunday night — belongs in the psych ward, not behind bars, added his lawyer, Sarah Burleson, to Judge Jevet Johnson at her client’s arraignment.
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“While I do not undercut the severity of the allegations, I will say that there is video already available in the press that does not reflect the incident” as asserted, Burleson said.
The child’s father told ABC that Robalino tossed the boy to the ground when confronted and that “it sounded like [Rah Rah] hit his head on the concrete” — a deeply disturbing attack caught on video obtained by Freedomnews and published by The Post.
Burleson claimed in court that the boy doesn’t hit his head on the ground.
The boy’s mom, Sharon Robinson, said the family was alerted by her son’s screams during the brazen kidnapping attempt on Stillwell and Surf avenues around 10 p.m.
Robalino, who was bizarrely clad in all black and wearing a black apparent fez hat at the time, was finally pounced on by Rah Rah’s dad, who held him until cops showed up and put him in handcuffs.
He was arraigned Tuesday on charges of attempted kidnapping, assault, attempted assault, harassment and endangering the welfare of a child.
Burleson noted that her client “made it to this point without any [previous] criminal charges” and said that what Robalino needs is “some time” under psychiatric care.
“What makes the most sense for him is to set supervised release, as that is all that would be available and allow him to go into the hospital under the hold and be treated for a period of time,” she said.
But Williams noted the “very serious allegations” in the case and ordered Robalino to be held on $25,000 cash bail or a $50,000 bond pending a return to court Friday.
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