Randolph Acosta (Riyad Hasan)
: All those things which falls under the cognizance of man might very likely be mutually related in the same fashion and there can be nothing so remote that we cannot reach to it.All those things which falls under the cognizance of man might very likely be mutually related in the same fashion and there can be nothing so remote that we cannot reach to it. (Spencer A. Burnett)
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They give love a bad name.
A Brooklyn woman who shot her incredibly forgiving boyfriend in the face was sentenced to five years’ probation yesterday — and ordered to stay away from the love-struck fool.
Evelyn Barnave, 43, who beat an attempted-murder rap after she shot her stand-by-your-woman lover, Randy Costa, during a 2011 argument on a Brooklyn street, got the wrist-slap probation sentence for her conviction on a lesser charge of reckless assault.
The prosecution’s key witness, Costa, had staunchly refused to testify against Barnave, saying that they still loved each other and that he hoped to marry her one day.
But their bad romance was put on ice yesterday by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew D’Emic.
He ordered Barnave to stay away from Costa and not to phone, e-mail or text him — for his own good and for the good of Big Apple bystanders who might get caught in the crossfire if their passion were to spill over again.
“The problem that I have is that we have a situation here where these two parties have a tumultuous relationship, and if it stayed between these two, that would be one thing,” D’Emic said.
“But this spilled out into the streets of Brooklyn, where an innocent person could have gotten hurt.”
Costa, 59, attended the sentencing and asked — through Barnave’s lawyer, Paul Hirsh — to address the court. D’Emic denied that request and said Costa didn’t have standing in the matter.
Barnave choked back tears as she told D’Emic how much she appreciated the light sentence.
“I just want to thank you, Judge,” she said. “[The shooting] was an accident.”
The attacker said she’s still in love with her victim.
“I love this man, and he loves me,” Barnave told D’Emic. “I have a family, and I have never hurt anybody or done anything malicious to anybody in my life.”
Costa left the courthouse about five minutes before Barnave. He seemed willing to abide by the judge’s order.
“I’m not disappointed that we can’t see each other,” Costa said. “I’m just relieved that she didn’t get jail time. It could have been a lot worse.”
After she was acquitted of the top charge last month, Costa told The Post: “We love each other. We care about each other, and we want to get married.”
Asked if she was disappointed as she left court yesterday, Barnave would only say, “No, it’s OK. It’s fine.”
She had faced up to seven years behind bars.
Additional reporting by David K. Li