White Privilege: Saltine teen gets 6 months in jail after he killed 5 people in a drag race...

Driver in Long Island Street Race That Killed 5 Gets Jail Sentence

MINEOLA, N.Y. — A driver who participated in a street race on Long Island that killed five other teenagers was sentenced on Friday to six months in jail and probation.

The penalty was set despite revelations from prosecutors that the driver, Cory Gloe, posted an epithet aimed at the police the day he pleaded guilty and that he had been arrested again as he awaited sentencing.

Prosecutors had pressed for a sentence of one to three years, citing his posts on social media that appeared to mock the criminal justice system. They also noted his arrest on a weapons charge, which was later dropped.

Justice Terence Murphy of State Supreme Court nevertheless granted Mr. Gloe youthful-offender status because he was 17 at the time of the crash. The judge said he thought justice would be better served by not sentencing Mr. Gloe to prison for what he called an error in judgment caused by “juvenile ignorance."

It’s been offered that movies like ‘Fast and Furious’ and TV reality shows on street racing glamorize such conduct and desensitize our youth from the dangers of such conduct,” Justice Murphy said. “I couldn’t agree more, but imprisonment won’t offer anything back to combat this danger. Education is power."

Justice Murphy also characterized Mr. Gloe’s social media posts as a “continued lack of judgment” and warned him that he would face prison time if he violated any of the terms of his probation, which will last five years.

The sentencing was met by gasps in the courtroom, which was packed with victims’ families and a crash survivor. Several gave emotional statements during the hearing.

“The youthful offender status bothers me, because he was only a month and a half from his 18th birthday the night of the accident,” Sandra Lonnborg, the mother of one of the victims, said afterward.

Mr. Gloe, now 19, apologized before hearing his sentence.

“I’m reminded of this every day and I will be for the rest of my life, and I take full responsibility for my actions,” he said in a quiet voice. He promised to “dedicate my life to young kids to make sure they don’t cause the pain that I’ve caused."

Mr. Gloe pleaded guilty in March to a 17-count indictment that included five manslaughter charges, in exchange for the six-month sentence.

He was one of two drivers competing in a drag race in Farmingdale in May 2014. The driver of the other car and four passengers died when that vehicle crashed into an approaching sport-utility vehicle. The S.U.V.’s driver and his passenger were also seriously injured. Prosecutors said Mr. Gloe had goaded the other driver into racing.

On the day Mr. Gloe pleaded guilty, he posted messages using an epithet about the police and claiming “I’ll be in and out faster than you can spin a doubt.”

The judge warned Mr. Gloe in March that his promise of a six-month term would be revoked if Mr. Gloe got into any more trouble.

He was arrested just days later during a traffic stop, in which he was a passenger. He was charged with a felony after the police found a gravity knife in the vehicle; that was dismissed after prosecutors said the driver of the vehicle told them he owned the knife.