DougW
08-30-2011, 11:26 AM
7-Cent Robbery, Assault Lands Teen With Up to 4-Year Prison Sentence (http://www.inquisitr.com/137525/7-cent-robbery-anthony-stewart-skyler-ninham/)
A 16-year-old Syracuse boy has been sentenced to up to four years in state prison for beating and kicking a 73-year-old man in a robbery that netted the teen and his accomplice a whopping 7 cents.
The NY Daily reports that on December 22nd, 2010, Skyler Ninham and Anthony Stewart, 15, carried out their crime in which they knocked the elderly victim to the ground, kicked him in the head, punched him in the face -breaking his glasses – and then robbed him of just 7 cents – the only money the man had on him at the time.
While the victim testified the youths were both armed with real weapons – one appeared to be a revolver and the other a shotgun, he stated – during the assualt, Stewart later admitted in a confession that the weapons were BB guns.
Ninham, who pleaded guilty in July, was sentenced to one to four years in state prison with youthful offender treatment removing the felony conviction from his record.
Stewart, on the other hand, decided to fight the case and was found guilty of first-degree robbery by a jury
Onondaga County Judge William Walsh said on Monday that he decided to throw the book at Anthony Stewart, because the teen didn’t plead guilty to the crime which he reportedly implicated himself in during an earlier police confession.
Walsh, pointing out that the victim fingered both Stewart and Ninham in the crime, spoke to the 15-year-old saying “and yet you still denied it. Well, that cost you.”
Stewart’s lawyer, Laurin Haddad, said after the sentencing that she was disappointed with Walsh’s decision to reject her plea to treat the boy as a youthful offender.
The judge’s decision means the felony conviction will remain on Stewart’s permanent record.
“For 7 cents, now you’re making someone a felon for the rest of his life,” Haddad said.
So, yeah. I get it, and in all honesty - I'm not shocked. It's a messed up world we live in, and this really isn't even newsworthy.
On the flip though the bolded/underlined quote from the lawyer. I mean really ?? No, you're not "making someone a felon for the rest of his life" for 7 cents. He made himself a felon by tossing a 73 yr. old guy down and kicking and punching him (while armed - at least in the victims mind). And did so with the intention of robbing him - the fact that he 'only had 7 cents' isn't even a factor.
So, is this just defense lawyer babble ? Or do people really think that way ?
A 16-year-old Syracuse boy has been sentenced to up to four years in state prison for beating and kicking a 73-year-old man in a robbery that netted the teen and his accomplice a whopping 7 cents.
The NY Daily reports that on December 22nd, 2010, Skyler Ninham and Anthony Stewart, 15, carried out their crime in which they knocked the elderly victim to the ground, kicked him in the head, punched him in the face -breaking his glasses – and then robbed him of just 7 cents – the only money the man had on him at the time.
While the victim testified the youths were both armed with real weapons – one appeared to be a revolver and the other a shotgun, he stated – during the assualt, Stewart later admitted in a confession that the weapons were BB guns.
Ninham, who pleaded guilty in July, was sentenced to one to four years in state prison with youthful offender treatment removing the felony conviction from his record.
Stewart, on the other hand, decided to fight the case and was found guilty of first-degree robbery by a jury
Onondaga County Judge William Walsh said on Monday that he decided to throw the book at Anthony Stewart, because the teen didn’t plead guilty to the crime which he reportedly implicated himself in during an earlier police confession.
Walsh, pointing out that the victim fingered both Stewart and Ninham in the crime, spoke to the 15-year-old saying “and yet you still denied it. Well, that cost you.”
Stewart’s lawyer, Laurin Haddad, said after the sentencing that she was disappointed with Walsh’s decision to reject her plea to treat the boy as a youthful offender.
The judge’s decision means the felony conviction will remain on Stewart’s permanent record.
“For 7 cents, now you’re making someone a felon for the rest of his life,” Haddad said.
So, yeah. I get it, and in all honesty - I'm not shocked. It's a messed up world we live in, and this really isn't even newsworthy.
On the flip though the bolded/underlined quote from the lawyer. I mean really ?? No, you're not "making someone a felon for the rest of his life" for 7 cents. He made himself a felon by tossing a 73 yr. old guy down and kicking and punching him (while armed - at least in the victims mind). And did so with the intention of robbing him - the fact that he 'only had 7 cents' isn't even a factor.
So, is this just defense lawyer babble ? Or do people really think that way ?