{"id":114404,"date":"2026-01-27T22:47:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T22:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/114404\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T22:47:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T22:47:28","slug":"judge-dangles-life-over-defendant-who-may-roll-dice-by-switching-guilty-plea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/114404\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge dangles \u2018life\u2019 over defendant who may \u2018roll dice\u2019 by switching guilty plea"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"53XV7OKX3FEDXDH2F7QGIGGNO4\">STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.\u2014 A Port Richmond man who allegedly violated his parole last year with a gun arrest was supposed to be sentenced Thursday. But instead, he threw the judge a curveball. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"MF4MWYLW4JCUHJJVAWYTSKBUO4\">Allah Sears, 46, of Heberton Avenue, pleaded guilty in October to attempted possession of a firearm in connection with the charges. In exchange for his plea, and considering multiple prior convictions, he was offered four years in prison. <\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Allah Sears\" class=\"article__image-content\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IJOUSIFO3NHZBM53Y4BFAPFE7Q.png\"  \/>After multiple stints in prison over the past 25 years, 46-year-old Allah Sears is currently facing a felony gun charge, in addition to other open cases in state Supreme Court, St. George. (Advance\/SILive.com)<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"OZ3YRY33HNGY7J3GJHAVWJEF5Y\">Sears, however, informed Justice Mario F. Mattei that he wanted to withdraw his plea. Mattei advised Sears to think carefully about his decision. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"S3IZTSII2FD6HPSTCGK7CUUE5I\">\u201cI could give you life,\u201d he cautioned, referencing what could happen if Sears ultimately is convicted on the top charges. \u201cBut if you want to roll the dice, you can roll the dice.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Justice Mario F. Mattei\" class=\"article__image-content\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769554048_555_O43SZ2TPGVCRHD7IPHUJPNBLS4.JPG\"  \/>Justice Mario F. Mattei will either grant or deny a request from Allah Sears to withdraw a guilty plea stemming from a gun arrest last year in Port Richmond. (Steve White for the Advance\/SILive.com)<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"O4BQ4DXGQ5C7XKD2ORDVBKI3BA\">Mattei adjourned the proceedings to Feb. 25 to allow time for the defense to file the motion. If Mattei denies the request, he could proceed directly to sentencing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"Y2IM2XDLOVCEZKRG435NFDIKHU\">The defendant also requested a new attorney, claiming he was not adequately informed of his options prior to pleading guilty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"6PVIDG46NNAIDEULDZYH4CFAPU\">\u201cHe got you four years, but that\u2019s fine,\u201d said Mattei. \u201cI\u2019ll find you a new lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gun arrest near park <img fetchpriority=\"low\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Gun arrest in Port Richmond\" class=\"article__image-content\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/3KK7S7XBVJG47BGJ4L6OH2OXIY.jpeg\"  \/>Police arrested the defendant at approximately 12 p.m. near Heberton Avenue and Bennett Street in Port Richmond, court documents stated.  Courtesy of Google Maps<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"6QHK2PTH7ZDD3DXMSSOKWTK7GE\">On the afternoon of Feb. 27, 2025, NYPD officers observed Sears seated in the driver\u2019s seat of a black Mercedes-Benz near Heberton Avenue and Bennett Street, steps from a small park in Port Richmond. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"EOYJIVMXYVCY5CE2ZGRTTBDMZY\">\u201c(Sears) was alerted to law enforcement\u2019s presence, quickly exited the vehicle and attempted to flee,\u201d said District Attorney Michael E. McMahon in a prior statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"D4I4ZANQVNCJ3IPZG2XZJUQNIM\">Police gave chase and apprehended the defendant, at which point they allegedly found a .380 Ruger Semi-Automatic handgun in his pocket. According to a criminal complaint, the defendant struggled with arresting officers. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"F65HK6AELFHO5IN2XE3SQUWIQY\">Sears had been arrested twice in December 2024, just weeks before the car stop. Those cases were wrapped into the aforementioned plea deal. <\/p>\n<p>Acquitted of murder, convicted in wiretap case<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"IUSY4Z3LQVAJVPWBFRJQ3AH5A4\">In 2000, Sears was acquitted of murder in the shooting death of a New Brighton man. He was found guilty though of a gun charge in the same case and received 12 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"AH2F6ONMLJDBNDWAAFHLZIYDFQ\">Prosecutors alleged Sears, then 21 years old, killed the victim, Damon Henderson, 28, in retaliation for a failed attempt on the life of Sears\u2019 older brother. The shooting unfolded in a parking lot on Jersey Street. Henderson died of a gunshot wound to the head.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"HNF3DSTDY5CK7LH2O6TSIJMNXY\">Defense attorney Mark Fonte at the time described the incident as an ambush, as his client was called over to a parked car occupied by Henderson and other men, according to Advance\/SILive.com archives. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"HAMYZZ3LCZG6FIW6H2GUDZQIF4\">Following his release from prison in that incident, Sears was arrested again in 2017 as part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.silive.com\/news\/2017\/06\/man_charged_with_manslaughter.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.silive.com\/news\/2017\/06\/man_charged_with_manslaughter.html\">wiretap drug investigation on the North Shore involving several alleged gang members.<\/a> He was sentenced in that case to seven years in prison. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.\u2014 A Port Richmond man who allegedly violated his parole last year with a gun arrest&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-114404","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}