Sovereign citizen sent to slammer for attempted property scheme

ALBANY — A New York City man has been sentenced to two and a third to seven years in state prison, for his lead involvement in an attempted property scheme at a Central Avenue building in 2014.

Zachariah Latnie, 22, was convicted on 15 felony counts in January stemming from his effort to steal a property worth $1 million, but he learned his fate Thursday.    

Prosecutors asked Judge Peter Lynch to give Latnie a harsh sentence, but he ultimately opted for an effort to have the self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen” rehabilitated.

“You need to get out of this alternative way of thinking that you can just take the property of others at will without any consequences and start channeling your intellectual capabilities, which are great, into more productive means, I think you’ll do well,” the judge told Latnie. ‘It appears you were brainwashed from your mother.”

Latnie is eligible for the Shock Incarceration Program, which is a comprehensive life skills programs that include academic education, group counseling, intensive alcohol and substance abuse treatment, physical training, drill instruction and work crews.

If Latnie is successful in the program, he could be released sooner.