COVINGTON, Ga. – A former Newton High School student has been sentenced to 15 years with the first 10 to be served in prison for his role in an armed robbery at the school two years ago.
Douglas Roberson, 17, pleaded guilty last October to armed robbery, carrying a weapon within certain school areas and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was one of four students charged with robbing another student at gunpoint in a boy’s restroom in May 2017.
During a sentencing hearing at the Newton County Judicial Center Tuesday morning, Superior Court Judge John M. Ott said, "Any parent sending a child to school expects it to be a safe place. This crime struck at the heart of that expectation.”
Roberson apologized to Ott and took responsibility for his actions
“I want to apologize to you and everybody else here for not holding up my end to be a good citizen,” he said, "I take responsibility for my actions.”
Roberson is the only one of the four charged in the crime to be convicted and sentenced so far. His sentence includes 10 years in prison for the armed robbery conviction and five years in prison for having a gun a in a school safety zone to run concurrently to the armed robbery sentence.
He also received five years on probation for possession of a firearm during the commission of the crime that will run consecutively to his prison sentence.
As part of his sentence, Roberson will be required to testify at the trials of the remaining two defendants in the case. Those trials are expected to take place later this year.
