Maksim Gelman: It Was A Setup!

Sure, maybe the one armed man did it.

Maksim Gelman, the Sheepshead Bay resident behind Friday’s vicious rampage, was charged with four counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, robbery charges and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. But outside of the 61st Precinct Sunday morning, Gelman told a jeering crowd, “This was a setup, man. This is bullshit.”

According to the Daily News, he later told cops: “I’m a sacrificial lamb. They’re treating me like an animal.”

In a strange twist, Gelman told officers he has cancer, and suggested it might have been his warped rationale for the attacks.

“He’d blurt out these strange things, that he was sick and he’d ‘have to go under the knife’ for cancer, so these people should get what he was going to get,” another source told the Daily News. His lawyer – a public defender – would not confirm whether or not he had cancer but acknowledged, “That may be an issue.”

Gelman emerged from the precinct in a jumpsuit after police confiscated his bloody clothes, which were kept for evidence. At the time of his arrest, reports say he told police “She had to die,”  possibly referring to Yelena Bulchenko, the East 24th Street resident he ambushed, chased and stabbed to death. Police believe he may have been obsessed over Bulchenko, but it’s unclear if she was an ex-girlfriend or merely an acquaintance.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Gelman previously had 10 arrests, mostly drug charges, and the most recent one on January 26 – for possession of crack cocaine.

He was also an unemployed grafitti artist, yet Kelly states that Gelman had a “significant amount of money” on him at the time of his arrest.

Apparently, Gelman is also unhappy with his fellow prisoners at the courthouse holding cells. “Throw him in here with us!” they shouted.

“You’re in here for nickel bags – go look what I’m in here for!” Gelman shouted back.

Oh, but Gelman, we thought it was a set up…