FAYETTEVILLE -- A judge will rule later on whether the case of a Springdale teen charged as an adult in connection with two armed robberies will be transferred to juvenile court.
Britavious Devond Sawyer, 17, is charged with accomplice to aggravated robbery in connection with the robbery of an Arvest Bank branch at North Street and Garland Avenue in Fayetteville on Jan. 3, 2017. It was three days after his sixteenth birthday. Police say Sawyer served as a lookout.
Legal lingo
A hearing to determine whether a juvenile’s case should be handled by the juvenile court or transferred to the circuit court to be tried as an adult. State juvenile courts with delinquency jurisdiction handle cases in which juveniles are accused of acts that would be crimes if adults committed them. However, all states have transfer laws that allow or require young offenders to be prosecuted as adults for more serious offenses, regardless of their age.
Source: Staff report
He's also charged with accomplice to aggravated robbery in connection with an incident where a man was robbed at gunpoint in Springdale at Baccus Avenue and Thelma Street on Jan. 13, 2017. There's also a drug possession charge associated with the case.
Washington County Circuit Judge Joanna Taylor heard evidence and arguments Thursday and said she'll issue a written ruling within two weeks. Juvenile transfer rulings must be in writing.
Prosecutors cited the seriousness of the offenses and argued Sawyer has a pattern of being involved in violent crimes and his repeated contact with the juvenile justice system has had little or no deterrent effect.
Chloe Frackler, deputy prosecutor, said Sawyer was the ring leader in the Springdale robbery and bought a car with proceeds from the Fayetteville bank heist. The incidents involved two different groups of co-defendants.
"The common thread here is Mr. Sawyer," Frackler said. "They're both involved with firearms and they're both committing robberies."
Attorneys for Sawyer argued he can still be rehabilitated within the juvenile justice system, which can retain jurisdiction over Sawyer until he turns 21.
Peter Giardino argued Sawyer's role in both robberies was minimal.
"What we're looking at is someone being told what to do," Giardino said. "He does stuff when there's other people around to do things with. He's not the brains of the operation, he's not the muscle either."
Giardino also argued Sawyer's upbringing was filled with abandonment, abuse and neglect.
"He needs help. He needs treatment," Giardino argued. "We're talking about a kid here. We owe him a chance."
Paul Younger further argued prison isn't likely to make Sawyer a better person.
"To protect society, we need to rehabilitate him because he will get out of prison," Younger said.
Two of Sawyer's three co-defendants in the bank robbery have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison. A third is awaiting trial.
Telvondric Haywood, 21, pleaded guilty in March to aggravated robbery in Washington County Circuit Court. Haywood also pleaded guilty to a list of other felonies. Haywood was sentenced to 30 years at the Arkansas Department of Correction with 15 years suspended on the robbery
Quamirrio D. Edwards, 20, of Springdale pleaded guilty to accomplice to aggravated robbery last year and was sentenced to 20 years with 10 years suspended.
Lentonio Marcell Jenner, 26, is the other person charged.
Police say Jenner and Haywood entered the bank, brandished guns and demanded money, then fled with $13,165.
Sawyer acted as a lookout and Edwards was the getaway driver, police said. No shots were fired, and no one was hurt. Haywood and Sawyer were arrested after admitting to the robbery, according to police.
Jenner was arrested by the Escambia County Sheriff's Office while he vacationed in northwest Florida and was returned to Arkansas to face charges.
Jenner was convicted last month in connection with an unrelated incident in which he kidnapped and tried to rob a Fayetteville couple at their home off Huntsville Road last year but was shot in the leg and police found him on the side of the road. Jenner was sentenced to 22 years in that case.
NW News on 11/02/2018