A man riding the Manhattan PATH subway was sentenced to seven years in prison on Feb. 12, 2013 for not paying a $2 fare and another three-and-one-half years for carrying an illegal handgun.
Ruben Sanabria, 37, was stopped last March by police in New York after not paying a $2 subway fare.
The Associated Press reports that police searched the man after he jumped the subway turnstile and that's when they found him carrying a loaded Smith & Wesson gun.
According to the New York Post, Sanabria pleaded guilty and could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for possessing a weapon in the second degree.
"This defendant illegally carried a loaded semiautomatic firearm into a public transportation system used by thousands of people every day ... Preventing gun violence is one of my top priorities as district attorney, and I will make sure that this office continues to seek strong sentences for crimes involving firearms." - Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr.
Had Sanabria paid his $2 fare, it's likely police would not have known he was carrying a gun. Instead of saving $2, he now faces more than 7 years in prison over just $2.
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