A Centre County judge sentenced a standout high school wrestler to serve 8-16 years in a state prison for a chasing and attacking a group of boys on Centre Hall Mountain.

Authorities said four 14-year-old boys were hiking in the woods near one of the boy's homes in May when they crossed paths with a man who started chasing them.

The boys told officers that the man chased them up a steep mountainside, ordered the boys to lie down on the ground, kicked one boy in the face, held a box cutter to another's throat, threatened to kill them then stole their iPods before he ran away.

Dozens of police officers and a private helicopter joined the search to locate the man, later arrested and identified as 19-year-old Richard Martinez, who later pleaded no contest to felony charges.

In court, Martinez apologized to the boys, saying he is not a monster and that his priorities didn't match up with his ambitions.

His mother and sisters asked the judge to have mercy on Martinez.

The defense attorney asked the judge for boot camp instead of a state prison sentence and said that Martinez, who had plans to attend college in Missouri, would lose his wrestling and academic scholarship.

Two of the teenagers who were attacked read impact statements and made eye contact with Martinez, saying they're still recovering from the incident, are too scared to hike through the woods and have trouble sleeping and trusting people.

 
Centre County Assistant District Attorney Nate Boob said Martinez had a long criminal past in the juvenile court system, including vandalism, theft and attacking a stranger inside the Nittany Mall.

A search warrant obtained by 6News indicated that Martinez was growing marijuana in a wooded area on the mountainside.

According to Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller, the victims and their families are satisfied with the sentencing, which is on the lower end of the sentencing guideline.

"The kids are afraid to hike by themselves now. It wasn't just a robbery. One of them suffered serious bodily injury to his face and they continue to suffer to this day. It was very serious, very violent," said Miller. "This defendant had prior brushes with the law in the juvenile system. We attempted to right the wrongs there and it didn't take, so at this point, state prison is the answer."