Teen in grocery store slot robbery will not be tried as adult

Kim Smith

Thursday, Aug. 24, 2000 | 11:47 a.m.

A 16-year-old boy accused along with two 19-year-olds of robbing a grocery store slot machine employee of $7,200 will not be tried in adult court.

Juvenile Judge Robert Gaston said there is no evidence that the boy is a continuing danger to society and should be dealt with in the juvenile justice system.

According to authorities, the boy and his co-defendants pointed a fake gun at the face of a Raley's grocery store slot machine worker, got $7,200 and then tried to rob a check-out clerk at the same store.

When the clerk couldn't open the drawer, the three fled in a car that ended up being chased by the police. The boy was able to jump out of the car and flee, but the other two implicated him and he was arrested shortly thereafter.

On Wednesday, Deputy District Attorney Frank Ponticello tried to persuade Gaston to send the boy, who is three months shy of 17, into the adult system.

Ponticello pointed out that the boy has already worked his way through the juvenile punishment system. The boy has served probation, served two sentences at the Spring Mountain youth correctional facility and spent time in a drug rehab program.

The teenager began his criminal career in 1996 when he was arrested for attempted burglary, Ponticello said. Since then, he has been convicted of other burglaries, possession of stolen property, stealing a car and possession of a controlled substance.

Ponticello accused the boy of "spitting in the face of the juvenile system."

Deputy Public Defender Susan Roske said her client wants to go into the adult system because many believe that juvenile offenders are treated less harshly there than in the juvenile system. In fact, if he were to go to the adult system he might end up on probation, she said.

Roske said she doesn't believe the boy's record is all that serious. Maybe, she said, a restrictive youth correctional center like Summit View would "get his attention."

Gaston said he believed the boy is trying to manipulate the system so he can get a lenient sentence in the adult system. So far, Gaston lamented, nothing seems to have worked in terms of getting the boy straightened out.

"It's just as much a failure of our juvenile justice system as it is his fault," Gaston said. "We haven't been able to find a program that can help him."

Gaston, however, said he isn't ready to give up yet.

"He is still a child, and we have time to work with him," Gaston said.

The boy is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 29. His co-defendants, Anthony Williams and Frank Salvator, have entered plea agreements and are scheduled to be sentenced by District Judge John McGroarty Sept. 6.