When I think of a convicted felon, I imagine a beefy, tatted up, six-foot man with a grimace that would make a baby cry and a record with a slew of robbery and assault charges.
What I do not picture is a 15-year-old boy with too much time on his hands being charged with first-degree robbery for punching a 73-year-old man, and all for a whopping seven cents. It looks like convicted felons are getting a new face, and that face belongs to Anthony Stewart.
Last December, Stewart, a 15-year-old from Syracuse, New York, along with his friend, 16-year-old Skyler Ninham, mugged 73-year-old Eugene Degroat. Both teenagers punched and kicked Degroat in the face while threatening him with handguns, though Stewart later revealed that they were actually BB guns. This yielded the boys a mere seven cents.
Stewart was arrested Christmas morning for the mugging where he proceeded to confess the crime to police. It was not until his trial though that Stewart took back his confession and lied, saying that he and Ninham were at a friend’s house when the crime took place, despite the fact that both Degroat and Ninham identified Stewart as one of the attackers.
While Ninham was sentenced to four years in state prison as a youthful offender, Stewart was sentenced much more harshly. Onondaga County Judge William Walsh was not too pleased that Stewart lied and rather than charging the teenager as a youthful offender, he charged him as an adult. Now, Stewart is being sentenced two to six years in state prison with a felony permanently on his record.
What cracks me up about this case the most is the seven cents. It seems silly that a teenager will forever be a convicted felon all because he stole seven cents. Despite the apparent absurdity though, Stewart did commit a crime. What if Degroat had a thousand dollars when Stewart was mugging him?
What if he had some priceless artifact or a bag of rubies? He could have had nothing in his pockets. What Degroat had in his pockets really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Stewart and Ninham mugged this poor man, who was simply trying to deliver cold medicine to his girlfriend’s mom, and yes, this 73-year-old man has a girlfriend. It isn’t like murderers get off easier if they murder someone more humanely than if they butcher someone.
The one problem I have with this whole case though is the difference in punishment between Stewart in Ninham. Now I personally believe that lying about the mugging to Judge Walsh was one of the dumbest things that Stewart could have done, besides the mugging of course, but is it fair that he is being charged as an adult while his friend is only being charged as a youthful offender?
They committed the same crime but the difference is that one is a convicted felon for the rest of his life. I understand that Stewart’s punishment should be a little harsher considering he lied but why not charge him for perjury instead?
I guess the moral of the story is that no money is worth a felony charge; especially seven cents.
Jessica Keesee can be reached at jessica.keesee@spartans.ut.edu.
I think they more than likely let the one kid off easier because he confessed. Most of the time, the truth will make your punishment easier. Whether we like it or not, judges have discretion in these types of cases. Maybe he will learn it is better to tell the truth- but probably not.
I was wondering the same when I read the story the first time. Note also that from what I read only the other boy kicked the man in the head while he was down, so that other boy being older and more brutal would suggest a harsher sentence.
I think it all shows utter disregard by prosecution for the victim and for violence — the message being these are not as important as not accepting whatever punishment prosecution offers in a plea deal.
The permanent felon status for the 15-year-old is likely to *endanger* society by pushing him towards more crime, as he’s unlikely to be ever able to find a job or rent an apartment or go to college. He will also walk away knowing the system is crooked and unfair and so will the young people who witnessed this injustice.
Troubled kids in early teens do NOT think in terms of being felon for ever and what it means. In other words, unlike incarceration the deterrence value of such punishment is zero for such teens. It’s just the system’s revenge because a minor followed some bad advice of an adult lawyer. Thus being a stupid kid who was misled by an adult somehow transformed this 15-year-old into an “adult” (though just for punishment and nothing else). It’s all hypocrisy.