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Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Natalie Candela (CLIFFVIEW PILOT photos, story by Mary K. Miraglia)
The 47-year-old ex-con must spend at least 3½ years of that time behind bars, under the No Early Release Act.
“This was a situation that could have ended up a lot worse,” Judge Edward A. Jerejian said in sentecing Turkowsky in Hackensack this morning.
“You could have killed him that night and faced a lengthy stay in state prison, or received even more time if convicted at trial,” the judge told him.
Public Defender Seth Victor asked the judge for less prison time for his client, who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in connection with the Jan. 5 attack.
Turkowsky blamed booze.
“I admit I was wrong, and I’m truly sorry about it,” he told the judge. “There is an alcohol problem in my family. My brother and sister both died as a result.
“I am 47 years old and I have an alcohol problem, I admit that. I would like to get help,” he said.
Turkowsky’s victim had his chance to address Jerejian, as well.
“If it was not for the arrival of the Bogota police, I am sure I wouldn’t be standing here today,” Raymond Metcalfe Jr. told the judge.
“A man who is so enraged and out of control as a result of jealousy and alcohol, I don’t think he is fit for society,” Metcalfe said. “I ask you to keep him from attacking other people in the street.”
“Richard Turkowsky hit me from behind with a wooden cutting board. He admitted using the cutting board as a weapon,” he said. “I had no weapon, I had no recourse.
“I was lying on the floor bleeding, and he was kicking me to death in my face and head.”
Metcalfe said he has a subdural hematoma brain injury, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and often has bad dreams of the incident. He is considered disabled, he said, and is collecting SSI benefits to support himself because he can’t work.
Turkowsky has a criminal record that includes 32 arrests and 25 convictions, Assistant Prosecutor Natalie Candela told Jerejian, while displaying large photographs of Metcalfe’s injuries.
That, combined with the “purposeful and serious bodily injury” on Metcalfe, would normally warrant more than five years in prison without the plea agreement, Candela said.
Citing what she said is a serious risk of injuries to others, she agreed to a four-year term.
Records show Turkowsky’s criminal history that stretches back to 1994 and includes a host of arrests on charges ranging from trespassing to harassment to drug possession, as well as probation violations.
The offenses escalated in 2000 to assault, weapons charges and threats to kill, criminal records show.
CLIFFVIEW PILOT STORY, PHOTOS by Mary K. Miraglia
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