Florida man convicted of attacking Jewish teenagers

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A Florida man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after previously pleading guilty to attacking four Jewish teenagers who were walking down a street dressed appropriately 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 that his sentence also includes a guilty plea to fleeing police and reckless driving in 2023.

Investigators said Amato and a friend were riding bicycles while under the influence of drugs and alcohol in Ponte Vedra Beach in 2022. Amato shouted a slur at a group of four Jewish teenagers celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Amato then struck one of the teens in the face with a handgun, officials said, and fired the weapon near the teen's head, leaving burns on the teen's face.

Amato's lawyer disputed parts of the report, saying there was a verbal altercation between Amato and the Jewish teens. The lawyer said the teen who was attacked by Amato, Zalman Barrocas, pushed Amato first.

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

Rabbi Nochum Kurinsky, Barrocas' uncle, had called for Amato to be charged with hate crimes. The prosecutor's office had previously stated that there were no hate crime charges.

Amato apologized for the pain he caused the family, saying on the witness stand, “I take full responsibility for the heinous crime I committed. I was heavily intoxicated by a whole bottle of alcohol and some Percocets.”