ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after earlier pleading no contest to attacking four Jewish teenagers who were walking along a road while dressed for a religious holiday in 2022.
Noah Amato, 19, of Ponte Vedra, was sentenced Friday for aggravated battery and carrying a concealed firearm in the October 2022 attack. Local news outlets reported his sentence also covers a no contest plea to fleeing police and reckless driving in 2023.
Investigators said Amato and a friend were riding a bike in Ponte Vedra Beach in 2022 while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Amato shouted a slur to a group of four Jewish teenagers who were out celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Amato then hit one of the teenagers with a handgun in the face, deputies said, and fired the gun near the teenager’s head, leaving burns on the teen’s face.
Amato’s attorney disputed parts of the account, saying there was a verbal confrontation between Amato and the Jewish teens. The lawyer said the teen who was targeted by Amato, Zalman Barrocas, had shoved Amato first.