Goetz Sentenced to 6 Months

Bernhard Goetz was sentenced today to six months in jail and five months probation on his conviction for illegal possession of the gun he used to shoot four youths on a subway almost three years ago.

The judge also directed Goetz to undergo psychiatric treatment, fined him $5,000 and ordered him to perform 280 hours of community service. “A non-jail sentence for Mr. Goetz would invite others to violate the gun law,” state Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Crane said. The maximum term Goetz could have received was 2 to 7 years. The state Probation Department had recommended that he be spared prison.