The man accused of slipping past security at a television studio and hurling a racial slur at a co-host has been ordered to be held at Rikers Island without bail.
Andrew Truelove, 41, was remanded to the Rikers Island jail complex without bail on Wednesday after violating parole tied to a criminal mischief charge he pleaded guilty to in May.
Truelove is accused of sneaking into a vestibule near Studio 1A in Rockefeller Center on July 16 and approaching co-host Craig Melvin, allegedly hurling a racial slur.
Truelove was allegedly searching for Al Roker but encountered Melvin instead. He faces hate crime charges of burglary, a felony, and menacing, a misdemeanor, in connection with the incident.
The man has a criminal history that extends beyond New York, including a conviction for trying to abduct an 8-year-old from a school in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2007.
Truelove was sentenced to 10 years of prison, with six years suspended and followed by 10 years on probation, according to court records.
His rap sheet also includes charges of trespassing, destruction of property, making bomb threats, and multiple probation violations, according to Virginia court records.
A security guard who reportedly failed to keep Truelove out of the studio was fired.
The television show said in a statement it was reviewing security protocols after the incident.
An individual entered an unauthorized area in a vestibule near Studio 1A, and the co-host alerted security. The person was detained and taken into custody by law enforcement without further incident.
There was no altercation, and no one was injured. The television show is cooperating fully with law enforcement as they investigate the matter.
