NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- An airport security worker charged a month ago with threatening to shoot President Barack Obama was to be released from jail Thursday after pleading guilty to reduced charges in a case his attorney criticized as an overreaction by prosecutors.
State Superior Court Judge Robert Gardner sentenced John Brek to time served, six days after Brek pleaded to two harassment counts. Those are considered petty offenses and carry a maximum jail sentence of 30 days; Brek had already served 29 since his arrest on Oct. 20.
Brek was originally charged with making terroristic threats, which carries a five-year maximum sentence. He was fired from his job, Rambarran said.
"It's been a nightmare," the slightly built 55-year-old told Gardner in describing his incarceration at the Essex County jail, where he was kept in solitary confinement. "I'm sorry I had a conversation with two people I didn't know. I ask the court for mercy."
Brek was arrested after making comments about Obama to two Continental Airlines employees at a lunch truck at Newark Liberty International Airport, where Brek worked for a security company and was responsible for overseeing vehicles moving in and out of an area near the tarmac.
Initially, prosecutors said the witnesses recounted how Brek spoke about cutting holes in an opaque fence covering to make it easier to shoot the president. But further interviews revealed that Brek actually pointed out holes in the covering and noted how someone could see through them to shoot the president. He also allegedly made racist comments about Obama.
Obama arrived at the airport the next day on his way to campaign for Gov. Jon Corzine.
Investigators found 43 guns at Brek's residence in Linden and 27 more he owned that were being stored at a friend's house. One was found to have been stolen, but Brek's attorney said his client, an avid hunter and outdoorsman, was unaware of the gun's background.
Brek also was charged with illegally possessing hollow point bullets, but the charge was dropped after it was determined he met the requirements for storing the ammunition.
The Essex County prosecutor's office defended its handling of the case.
"What we thought we had initially, we found out turned out to be something else," Chief Assistant Prosecutor Keith Harvest said Thursday. "Most of the guns were long rifles, and where he worked he had an opportunity and a good vantage point if he chose to use those rifles to take a shot at the president. We had to pursue it to the end."
Attorney Moses Rambarran, representing Brek, said prosecutors overreacted because of Brek's gun collection.
"The rush to judgment came when authorities found John Brek possessed more than 40 guns," Rambarran said. "That means that every gun owner has to be aware of what they say around a water cooler.
"This was small talk at a lunch truck where my client went to get a gyro and an orange juice," he said. "You can turn on the TV today and there are far more offensive statements than what my client acknowledges saying."
READ MORE: Newark Airport Guard Pleads Guilty over Obama Threat
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