A Queens teen, accused of making death threats against a federal judge, made a passionate plea for “mercy” as he unsuccessfully tried to be released on bail yesterday.
“I’m only 19. Please have mercy for me, please,” wailed Wazir Khan at the hearing in Brooklyn federal court, where he pleaded not guilty to making threats over several weeks ending with his arrest on April 19.
The Guyanese teen allegedly was trying to close the courthouse so that his mother, Bibi Asgar, would not have to face trial for credit-card fraud.
Khan sent one envelope filled with a white powder – which turned out to be innocuous – and a letter threatening “a massacre of judges in the courthouse,” authorities said.
He also allegedly threatened to blow up the courthouse and claimed to have smuggled a gun inside.
Asgar pleaded guilty on April 18 and has been under house arrest while awaiting her sentencing.
Khan cried throughout much of the hearing, even once falling to his knees. Whenever Magistrate Judge Kiyo Matsumoto looked away, however, Khan would turn to his lawyer, Donald Schechter, for composed, private conversations.
“There is no actual violence here, only a threat of violence,” said Schechter, who later added, “The most he could be accused of is gross stupidity.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Smith said Khan’s terror tactics “paralyzed” the courthouse and that he poses a flight risk if allowed out on bail.