Florida man sentenced for attacking Jewish teens

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A Florida man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to attacking four Jewish teenagers who were walking down the street dressed for a religious holiday in 2022.

Noah Amato, 19, of Ponte Vedra, was convicted Friday of aggravated assault and carrying a concealed firearm in the October 2022 attack. Local news outlets reported his sentence also includes a no-contest plea to fleeing police and reckless driving in 2023.

Investigators said Amato and a friend were riding bicycles in Ponte Vedra Beach in 2022 while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Amato yelled an insult at a group of four Jewish teenagers who were celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Amato then struck one of the teenagers in the face with a handgun, deputies said, and fired the gun near the teen’s head, causing burns to the teen’s face.

Amato’s attorney disputed parts of the story, saying there was a verbal confrontation between Amato and the Jewish teens. The attorney said the teen Amato targeted, Zalman Barrocas, pushed Amato first.

“I believe this man should receive the maximum sentence,” Barrocas said in his testimony at the hearing. “My life could have ended that day. I believe it was a miracle from God and I thank him every day. I hope it is a story that ends with us being safer and living in society without fear.”

Rabbi Nochum Kurinsky, Barrocas’ uncle, had called for hate crime charges against Amato. Prosecutors previously said no hate crime charges were pending.

Amato apologized for the pain he caused the family, saying on the witness stand, “I take 100 percent responsibility for the heinous crime I committed. I was heavily under the influence of a whole bottle of booze and some Percocets.”