A notorious panhandler who has terrorized SoHo locals for years copped to cocaine possession Wednesday after a grand jury declined to indict him for throwing a brick at a fellow beggar.
Dozens of residents of the downtown neighborhood pressured the Manhattan district attorney’s office to lock up crazed hobo Richard Pearson for spouting profanities, groping mannequins and allegedly assaulting merchants.
But prosecutors had to drop felony assault charges stemming from a May 22 incident where he allegedly bashed a rival panhandler with a brick during a turf dispute after a grand jury twice refused to indict him.
“Mr Pearson pleaded guilty to the only charge the grand jury found appropriate – the misdemeanor – and he trusts that the court will render a just sentence,” said defense lawyer Alex Grosshtern.
The reviled beggar allegedly stole a vendor’s 18-inch serrated knife to attack a man with no legs and threatened to murder numerous other area residents, according to letters written to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon.
Pearson, who has been arrested 21 times in 30 years, has been compared to Larry “Wild Man” Hogue, who terrorized his Upper West Side in the 1980s.
The news of Pearson’s impending release crushed frightened residents.
“I’m absolutely terrified that this man may be allowed back into my community. It’s highly disturbing,” said Christina Nenova, who lives on Spring Street.