On Feb. 22, 2008, Cole Spencer Murphy, then 17, did something he'll regret for the rest of his life.

Murphy either robbed a pizza delivery boy with a toy gun as a prank or conspired with friends to order pizza and, when it was delivered, used a .380-caliber handgun to take $50 in cash and about $20 worth of pizza.

Murphy had already been in jail for 278 days when he appeared before Judge Robert Lane last month for sentencing on one charge of assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to 28 to 72 months in prison.

Originally charged with robbery with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit a crime, Murphy was facing four to 30 years of jail time. However, as part of a plea bargain, he elected to give up his right to a jury trial and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge. He was also certified to be tried as an adult.

Defense attorney Jason Ernest asked that his client be given the maximum sentence and placed on parole for five years, saying the gun was a toy and no weapon was ever recovered.

However, Deputy District Attorney Wesley White said, "The defendant received leniency because of no criminal record and because of his age."

White also said a .380-caliber gun and ammunition were recovered and the crime was detailed and planned, rather than a crime of opportunity.

Ernest argued that his client was 17 when the crime was committed. "This man had no history whatsoever, juvenile or otherwise, and nobody was hurt in this offense. Typically, the clients I get as juveniles don't have the best reading and writing skills. This is a phenomenally well-written letter (by Murphy)," said Ernest. "It shows responsibility and accountability for what happened. He feels terrible about his choice.

"He recognizes the severity of what he did. He knows it was wrong," emphasized Ernest. "He is somebody that exceeds in life. He has goals to finish his education and go to college. His high school education was put on hold because of this."

Although his client said he only had a toy gun, Ernest acknowledged the victim could not have known that in the dark when he was robbed.

"You've got a black gun pointed at you; you don't know if it's real. You're scared. I understand that," said Ernest. "It's a dumb thing to do for $50 and some pizza, for sure."

When asking for probation for Murphy, Ernest stipulated that he must finish high school and stay out of trouble. He said, "There's never been an issue of drugs or alcohol abuse. He's a very good student. This is a bright young man who has learned from his mistakes. Judge, give him a chance. Let him walk through life, and when he comes out of that probationary period, not only will he be educated, he'll commit no new crimes.

Murphy also addressed Lane, saying, "Your honor, I am not a bad kid. One day I would like to be respected like you. My mom is a single mom, and I need to help her. I would like to prove to the courts, myself and my family that I can be a model citizen and I am not a bad person."

White said he had photographs of the handgun recovered from the crime. He also reminded the court there was a victim.

"There was a young man out there trying to make an honest living delivering pizza," said White. "He walks up to a door and he gets a gun stuck in his face and it scares him half to death. It scares him so much he quits his job and goes to work elsewhere.

"This wasn't a situation where the defendant was sitting around the house one night and saw the pizza guy come by and said, 'Hey, there's an opportunity' and grabs a gun and runs outside. This was planned, judge.

"There were other conspirators in this. We've got phone records. It was a detailed plan by the defendant and other people to call this pizza guy to the residence and rob him. A deadly weapon was used."

White also said the state took into consideration Murphy's youth and non-criminal record. "That's why the state reduced the charges. We can't have people out there calling pizza guys and robbing them."

While Lane commended both attorneys on their arguments, he agreed with White, saying, "We cannot let other 17-year-olds out in society say, 'You mean if I rob somebody with a gun and get caught, I'm basically just getting probation.' No, you're going to have to serve some time.

"You're going to be doing two years. You have already done one. So, in fact, you have gotten the benefit of a good deal from the state. But to protect the community, we have to send the word ... that we are not going to tolerate this kind of behavior," said Lane.

"When you go off and you serve your time, you are going to be given your choices, like we all are in life, of which path you are going to go down."