Bronx Teen Refuses To Accept Plea Deal, Remains At Rikers

Source: WPIX

The incident is being compared to what happened with Kalief Browder.

Pedro Hernandez is currently incarcerated at Rikers Island for a crime many are saying he did not commit. In a report from Pix 11, 18-year-old Hernandez was arrested in connection with a 2015 shooting where another teenager was shot in the leg. Although the victim and eight other teens that witnessed the shooting said that Hernandez did not commit the crime he was still arrested. According to those same victims, in video recorded statements, they said that the arresting officer threatened them with physical violence if they did not claim to investigators that the shooter is Hernandez.

Currently, Hernandez's family is trying to raise $250,000 so he can pay his bail and accept a full scholarship to college. As of Monday afternoon, the family has only raised $425 so far.

READ: Rikers Island To Close In The Next 10 Years

"As a family, it's become a true hardship to come up with the $250,000 bail; cash or bond," Jessica Perez, Hernandez's mother, wrote on the crowdfunding page. "We ask for any donations possible that will help Pedro come home and attend college."

Hernandez could have accepted a plea deal where he would be placed on probation for five years (following that his record would be wiped clean) but he did not accept, wanting to prove his innocence instead.

"Everybody needs to stand together and say that our kids don't deserve a plea deal," Perez said. "They deserve a future."

In order to accept his scholarship, Hernandez must be out of prison by Sept. 1 but scheduling conflicts by his lawyer and the judge are preventing Hernandez's case from being heard until after Labor Day. Hernandez has already received his high school diploma from the East River Academy at Rikers Island, as well as passed his Regents and SAT.

Source: pix11.com