7 Cent Robbery Gets Teen 2 to 6 Years in Prison
A Syracuse teen will be locked up for two years after robbing a 73-year-old man for 7 cents. Anthony Stewart faces up to six years in a New York juvenile detention center. He was fifteen when the robbery was committed and was tried as an adult.
On Dec. 22, Stewart and his friend, Skyler Ninham, 16, assaulted and robbed an elderly man. The two teens were carrying BB guns that resembled actual pistols when they approached the victim from behind. Stewart and Ninham then knocked the man to the ground and robbed him of 7 cents – the only money the 73-year-old man had in his possession – the prosecutor said during the trial.
In July, Ninham pled guilty and received youthful offender treatment, which removes the felony conviction from his record. He was sentenced to up to four years in a state prison.
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Onodaga County Judge William Walsh presided over the trial and was hoping Stewart would plead guilty but the teen chose to fight the charges.
Even though the victim identified both Stewart and Ninham as the robbers, Stewart “still denied it,” said Walsh.
“Well, that cost you,” the judge said.
A jury found the 16-year-old guilty of first-degree robbery.
Stewart’s attorney, Laurin Haddad, asked the judge to treat Stewart as a youthful offender and was disappointed with Walsh’s sentencing decision.
Due to being tried as an adult, Stewart will forever be a felon with a criminal record.
“For 7 cents, now you’re making someone a felon for the rest of his life,” she said.
