HONESDALE - Sandra Cimino begged a Wayne County judge on Thursday to see her son as a recovering drug addict who recently enrolled in college, not the naked, blood-streaked maniac who rampaged through Hawley and gnawed on a stranger's head.
"My son made a terrible mistake," Ms. Cimino said while sitting next to her son, Richard Cimino Jr., who sobbed as she spoke. "He was truly devastated when he was told what happened that night."
Judge Raymond Hamill sentenced the 20-year-old Doylestown man to 90 days to 23½ months in county prison. The judge said he could not overlook the "nightmare" Mr. Cimino inflicted upon two borough women, Ann Monaghan and Nancy Dean-Corino, who were taking a stroll early one morning in September when Mr. Cimino confronted them.
The women replied to his "good morning," but seeing the condition he was in "realized this was not the best situation to be in," Ms. Monaghan said at Mr. Cimino's preliminary hearing in October.
Mr. Cimino pushed Ms. Monaghan and latched onto Ms. Dean-Corino with his arms and legs. He gnawed on her head until he finally loosened his grip and flopped onto the road.
When state police and paramedics arrived, Mr. Cimino was biting his own arms and hands and "flopping around basically like a fish out of water," a state trooper testified.
He punched a paramedic in the face before a state trooper subdued him with a Taser.
"You were a madman," Judge Hamill said. "It is truly a nightmare that these two women lived through."
Mr. Cimino's bizarre rampage began on Sept. 7 when he parked his car behind a home at 634 Hudson St. and stripped down to his underwear. After waking a resident of that home while trying to break in, he ran to a vacant home at 521 Hudson St., took off his underwear and broke in.
Mr. Cimino then clambered up to the second floor, jumped out a window and hit the ground, severely injuring his arms and legs. At the time, he was under the influence of a synthetic hallucinogenic drug, O-Acetylpsilocin.
Naked and bleeding, Mr. Cimino staggered through the home's garage and out to the street, where he came upon Ms. Monaghan and Ms. Dean-Corino.
Given an opportunity to address the court, Mr. Cimino choked up and had a hard time reading his statement through a torrent of sobs.
"I am truly sorry for my actions," he said. He went on to note how this moment "opened" his eyes and served as a "pivotal point" to finally overcome his drug abuse.
"He continued on (with treatment) where others have stopped," his attorney, Paul Walker, said. "This is a kid who has made that effort toward recovery."
In March, Mr. Cimino pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges, including simple assault, indecent exposure, criminal mischief and terroristic threats.
He will receive 29 days' credit toward his sentence - one day spent at county prison and 28 days at a treatment clinic.
Before Judge Hamill handed down his sentence, he said a walk with his wife Thursday morning gave him perspective about the case.
"I thought to myself, 'Wow. This is what they were doing when out of the blue there was an attack,'" he said.
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