A Brooklyn judge admonished an alleged teenage train thief, telling the 17-year-old he was playing “Russian Roulette” with other people’s lives.
The teen, who cops say was part of a group of youngsters who took a pair of R trains on a joyride through Brooklyn more than a week ago, faced Criminal Court Judge Craig Walker Tuesday, as he was arraigned on charges of reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and criminal trespass. The Daily News is withholding his name because of his age.
Walker, who noted the teen was also involved in “something similar” in Queens, told the teenager that his wild, posted-on-social-media ride had the potential to injure transit workers.
“The transit system runs the way it runs because people know where the trains are going to be … There are track workers who work on the tracks, and they work on the tracks thinking that the track is shut down and there’s no train coming,” the judge said.
“It’s like playing Russian Roulette. Eventually, your luck will run out,” he said.
The teen was one of two youngsters busted in connection with the Jan. 25 subway hijacking. The second suspect, a 15-year-old boy, had a set of train keys when police arrested him, assistant District Attorney Natasha Grant said Tuesday.
The 15-year-old suspect was released to his parents pending the filing of formal charges in Family Court.
Five other members of the joyride crew remain at large.
The heist kicked off around 10 p.m. Jan. 25, when the group broke into the unoccupied trains at the 36th St. and Fourth Ave. stop in Sunset Park, cops said.
Transit sources previously told the Daily News the teens targeted a train parked overnight along a stretch of express track in Brooklyn. A second train was found with broken door locks, parked on a layup track in the same area.
The teens posted video on Instagram, showing them riding an R160 subway car through Brooklyn at speeds of up to 30 mph, blowing through signals and stations. The video showed the train moving “with legs dangling outside an open window,” Grant said.
Police confirmed that at least one train’s black box was disabled from 10:20 p.m. Jan. 25 to 3:30 a.m. the next day.
The 17-year-old was caught on video leaving the conductor’s car, and members of the group used a black marker pen to black out surveillance cameras, the prosecutor said.
None of the teen’s family was present for Tuesday’s court proceeding, though his Brooklyn Defenders Services lawyers said they were in contact with his father.
Walker ordered the boy held without bail, since he’s awaiting sentencing in a Queens Family Court case. The details of that case were not immediately available Tuesday. Going forward, the Brooklyn case will be handled in Family Court, as well, the judge ruled.