The Sheepshead Bay man who went on a killing rampage through Brooklyn and into Manhattan in February pleaded guilty today to murder in a surprise move that could mean he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Maksim Gelman, 24, killed his mother’s boyfriend and a 20-year-old acquaintance and her mother, before mowing down a pedestrian in a stolen car in a horrific 28-hour murder spree.
Gelman had originally pleaded not guilty to the charges, but his lawyer said he wished to plead guilty to all 13 counts of the indictment against him.
“Mr. Gelman is anxious to begin his sentence in an upstate facility,” his lawyer, Edward Friedman said, according to the New York Post, our sister publication.
Gelman will be sentenced on Jan. 11, when he will mostly likely be sentenced to life in prison.
“It is quite likely, almost guaranteed, that any sentence I give means you’d never be released from a penal institution while you are alive,” said Judge Vincent DelGiudice at the hearing.
Reach reporter Eli Rosenberg at erosenberg@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2531. And follow him at twitter.com/from_where_isit.
