Two Floyd County juveniles accused of using a BB gun to rob a Rome convenience store early last year will be tried as adults, the Georgia Supreme Court has ruled.

Floyd County Superior Court Judge Tami Colston last summer ruled the case against the two teens, who were 13 and 16 when the crime was committed, should be handled by juvenile court.

Officials said the teens, charged with armed robbery, robbery and aggravated assault, now face a minimum 10-year prison sentence if convicted.

They are accused of entering the store brandishing “a silver and black gun having the appearance of a firearm” in the February 2006 attack. The weapon turned out to be a BB gun.

In 2006, District Attorney Leigh Patterson decided to try the pair in superior court, rather than juvenile, citing the seriousness of the crime. She said superior court has a larger range of sentencing options at its disposal.

However, on Aug. 7, 2006, Colston, without a motion made by the defense or prosecution, remanded the case to juvenile court. That action was appealed by Patterson.

“The district attorney properly invokes the superior court’s jurisdiction by pursuing a case against a juvenile in superior court,” wrote Justice Harold Melton for a unanimous court. “The court is obligated to retain jurisdiction over the case and is not authorized, (by itself), to transfer it prior to indictment.”

The case now returns to superior court, where any armed robbery conviction carries with it a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

A juvenile court does not have this minimum sentence. Even though one of the alleged robbers is now legally an adult, he could have been tried as a juvenile.

Defense attorney Jimmy Satcher argues the issue should be handled in juvenile court, as the boy who allegedly brandished the gun was 13.

“Juveniles are a protected class of people. The state of Georgia has recognized that,” Satcher said. “I guess I’m the only one who did something stupid when I was 13.”

He said the case may have merit at the U.S. Supreme Court
level as the cases the Georgia Supreme Court relied upon to make its decision were made before juveniles were declared a “class” of people.

“This is an armed robbery case, (the 13-year-old) would not be out of prison until he was at least 24. We would have someone raised in prison,” Satcher said.