Anthony Stewart, 15-Year-Old From Syracuse, N.Y., Jailed For Assault And 7-Cent Robbery (VIDEO)

This crime really didn't pay.

A 7-cent robbery might sound like a petty crime, but, combined with the assault of a 73-year-old man, it's landed 15-year-old Anthony Stewart some serious time in juvenile detention.

Onondaga County Judge William Walsh decided that Stewart deserved to have the incident on his permanent record. The defendant will spend at least two years in juvenile detention, according to the Daily News. Judge Walsh said he refused to try the boy as a "youthful offender" and wanted the charge to remain on his record because he didn't initially plead guilty, even though both his accomplice and the assaulted man identified him.

"And yet you still denied it," Walsh told Stewart, reported the Syracuse Post-Standard. "Well, that cost you."

"For 7 cents, now you're making someone a felon for the rest of his life," Laurin Haddad, Stewart's lawyer said, according to the Post-Standard.

Unlike Stewart, his accomplice, Skyler Ninham, 16, pleaded guilty and was sentenced as a youthful offender, according to Syracuse.com. He'll serve a minimum of one year at a state prison.

According to Newser, the boys ran up to a 73-year-old man, punched him in the face, breaking his glasses, and robbed him of 7 cents -- all the money he had in his pockets.

Both boys held what seemed to be guns during the December 2010 robbery, though they turned out to be BB guns.

Stewart was convicted of first-degree robbery in July, just two days before Ninham pled guilty, according to the Daily News.

WATCH:

Comments

[Begbie]

09:24 AM on 09/03/2011

Kid's a felon for beating up a 70 year old...not "7 cent"...I'm sure his momma will vouch for her "good boy" that never meant to hurt anyone.

[Karmella]

01:42 AM on 09/03/2011

I don't know anything about crime in Syracuse, but it appears that the judge is making an example of these youths. Children and parents in that area need to take heed, because the last place a person want to be is in Judge Walsh's court. Try his patience if you dare.

And the headline is misleading...

[smiz]

09:56 AM on 09/01/2011

It is not how much was stolen, it is how they assaulted and beat the victim...

[maybesomeday]

09:18 AM on 09/01/2011

I too was mis-lead by news reports and believed what a harsh sentence of .07 cent's. Clearly I misunderstood what the 7 cents meant. I totally had the impression that it was him taking money off of a table, or off of a counter. I had no idea that for 7 cents they assaulted an elderly gentleman.
Yes, it must have been the family making the rounds of how unjust the sentence was, thereby miniumizing what actually happened.
In order to receive fair justice, people, including this 15 year should have taken responsibility instead of denying he was involved.
This was never about 7 cents at all, and being mislead by the "reports" on the news clearly showed who was behind this becoming a national story.
I don't know if the punishment will wake him up and stop him from a life of crime, or if it will have the opposite affect, but I do know don't do the crime if you can't do the time. Respect the elderly no beating them up.

[liephman88]

06:03 AM on 09/01/2011

I would have to agree with "SPARKLYGIRL" the head line over simplify the true story, it wasn't the seven cent that got this kid his jail time but the acted of strong armed robbery. Just as the comment in the artical over simplified the case by saying the judge was making this kid a life time felon over seven cent, "NO!" he's a felon because he tried to break a old man face for seven cents.

[fd909]

04:55 AM on 09/01/2011

This isn't about 7 cents. It's about two young men assaulting an old man. Slam the door on 'em, hard.

[ddokken69]

04:50 AM on 09/01/2011

What the hell is wrong with kids these days???

[ddokken69]

04:47 AM on 09/01/2011

I tip my hat to the judge!!!!

[triplettam]

04:04 AM on 09/01/2011

A little different than the headline implied.

[badhog8]

03:43 AM on 09/01/2011

7 cent 7 million, a thief is a thief and should be punished the same

[charwebb2527]

03:12 AM on 09/01/2011

No doubt, this was a horrible crime. Indeed,This young man should have the book thrown at him.andI agree that he should receive a stiff sentence. However, to be considered a convicted felon for the rest of his life, I am not sure about. Even if the kid can be rehabilitated, and I believe he can at such a young age, what kind of productive life can he hope to lead with felony conviction attached to job applications, etc. No he probably will end of doing more crimes to make his 'way' in life and back in prison at the tax payers expense.

[bnaz1]

02:44 AM on 09/01/2011

Robbing an old man, only getting 7 cents out of it and then being locked up for a year?
Kharma

[limp]

01:54 AM on 09/01/2011

I hope they were convicted of armed robbery not just robbery.

[jmartinlegal]

12:34 AM on 09/01/2011

There will be more problems with this kid. It's written all over him.

[lionrampant52]

12:30 AM on 09/01/2011

Since they are borderline juvenile and adult They should be given the choice between a public whipping and 6 months in jail to recover., or two years hard time.