A Little Rock teenager who told police he tried to rob a sandwich shop at gunpoint for money to buy food and help care for his mother must stand trial as an adult, a Pulaski County circuit judge ruled Monday.
An anguished Judge Barry Sims rejected Cameron Bryant Kingsby's petition to be tried in juvenile court on aggravated robbery charges.
Knowing the gun had a round in the chamber, Sims said he could not overlook surveillance video that showed the 17-year-old defendant's finger on the trigger of the .380-caliber pistol he pointed at Subway manager Ravi Patel and waved at the other people in the Plateau Street restaurant.
Just a "nudge" of the finger could have resulted in tragedy, the judge said, describing how he saw the terrified faces of the employees and patrons, people who had done nothing to deserve being terrorized. Kingsby had not asked for food before trying to rob the restaurant, the judge pointed out, questioning why the teen had not turned to the relatives who attended his juvenile transfer hearing for assistance.
"It breaks my heart we're at this point with a 17-year-old kid who commits the crime of a grown man," Sims said. "Somewhere he got it in his mind it was OK to rob ... to steal someone else's money ... and everything about that is wrong. We can't have this in society. I can't let you send the message that this is OK."
Deputy prosecutor Matt Stauffer, who argued in favor of prosecuting Kingsby as an adult, told the judge that the teen didn't get any money. An off-duty officer, still in his uniform, had been using the restroom of the store on Plateau Street next to UAMS Medical Center and walked out in time to disrupt the January stickup, Stauffer told the judge.
The teen fled but officer Olen Lakey chased him until he surrendered, but not before throwing the gun away, the prosecutor said. The weapon held two bullets, one in the clip and one in the chamber.
Defense attorney Latonya Austin asked the judge to look past the "horrible mistakes" of a teenager in "dire need" who was trying to provide for himself and his mother, Clarita Lightner, a woman who had worked to provide for her family until she was crippled by heart disease and diabetes.
Kingsby did not testify, but Austin told the judge that the only reason mother and son had a roof over their heads was because they were living in government housing at the time. Otherwise, their utilities had been cut off for nonpayment, and they rarely had enough to eat, she said, pointing out that the robbery attempt occurred in the winter.
Learning of the teen's circumstances, Lakey had bought him a meal out of concern he might not get fed on time at the jail. Kingsby was moved by the officer's generosity, and similarly shared his food with his mother that night when he was allowed to talk to her.
"He accepted full responsibility for his actions," detective Terry McDaniel told the judge, describing the teen as eager to talk to investigators about what he had done and what his life was like. "I didn't feel like he was doing it to be mean or lazy."
She said she asked prosecutors to give Kingsby any consideration they could because of the difficult circumstances of his life, saying it's the only time she's done so in her career.
"I felt like if anybody deserves a chance it was him," she said. "I'm not saying he shouldn't be held accountable."
The only family member to testify was the defendant's brother Chris Kingsby, an adviser to the state Democratic Party chairman, state Rep. Michael John Gray.
"We had no food, no lights, no water," he testified, telling the judge he was shocked his younger brother would resort to such "drastic acts" to provide for his basic needs.
Cameron Bryant Kingsby had jobs before to help his mother with the bills, but lost both jobs. One employer went out of business, and a car crash injured the teen's arm so severely that he required two surgeries, which cost him the second job, Chris Kingsby said.
He told the judge the family now lives in much improved circumstances at the Whisperwood Townhouses & Apartments on Baseline Road because he's able to afford better. Kingsby said he was fortunate that he was able to live with someone growing up who was helping him financially.
"I had no way of helping Cameron or myself, which was why I was living with someone else," he testified.
Metro on 08/29/2018