MAN FACING TRIAL ON DRUG CHARGES JUMPS TO DEATH

A 19-year-old man apparently distraught over a prison sentence offered
in exchange for his guilty plea in a drug case jumped through a New York
City courthouse window Thursday and fell 16 stories to his death.

"I'm 19 years old, your honor. That is terrible. That's terrible,"
Derrick Smith told State Supreme Court Justice Budd Goodman, according
to a court transcript.

Smith, or Manhattan, was charged with criminal sale of cocaine and had
been offered three to six years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea.
He had a prior history of drug convictions.

After Smith rejected the offer at the Criminal Courts Building, Goodman
set his trial for Now. 25. As Smith was led from the courtroom into a
secure area, he ran, jumped on a bench in front of the window and leaped
to his death.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst