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NORRISTOWN — A Delaware County man who was a teenager when he was charged with the armed carjacking of a man outside a convenience store in Lower Merion Township has lost his bid to transfer his case to juvenile court.
The charges filed against Kyle Conner Stewart, who was 17 at the time of the alleged incident, “shall remain in adult court,” Montgomery County Judge William R. Carpenter ruled after holding a decertification hearing on Stewart’s request.
Stewart, now 18, of the 200 block of Wabash Avenue, Lansdowne, faces charges of robbery, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, firearms not to be carried without a license and possession of a firearm by a minor in connection with the alleged Sept. 8. 2024, gunpoint carjacking along City Avenue in the Wynnewood section of Lower Merion.
The incident occurred just 22 days before Stewart turned 18. Stewart was charged as an adult because of the violent nature of the offense.
Defense lawyer Andrew Joseph Levin sought to move Stewart’s case to juvenile court, where potential punishments are less harsh and the focus is more on rehabilitation and treatment.
In court documents, Levin argued Pennsylvania law allows a case of a juvenile charged as an adult to be transferred to juvenile court if the transfer “will serve the public interest.”
“There are many opportunities available within the juvenile system for petitioner to be rehabilitated and there exist reasonable and good faith grounds to believe that he is amenable to treatment, supervision or rehabilitation in the juvenile justice system…,” Levin wrote in the court petition. “Further, there is ample time for said treatment, supervision or rehabilitation should he be adjudicated delinquent.”
During decertification hearings, defense lawyers have to establish that transferring a case to juvenile court will serve the public interest and that the juvenile is in need of treatment and rehabilitative programs.
Juvenile court cases are handled differently from adult criminal cases. In juvenile court, there are no juries and all cases are handled by a judge. While adult court proceedings focus more on punishment, in juvenile court, the focus is on rehabilitation.
In juvenile court, offenders are never referred to as “guilty” but are considered “adjudicated delinquent” if the charges are proven. Additionally, juvenile courts aren’t bound by the same sentencing guidelines used in adult criminal courts.
A juvenile adjudicated delinquent can be kept under supervision only until they are 21. Punishments in juvenile court can include placement in a juvenile detention facility, a rehabilitation facility or house arrest.
Prosecutors successfully challenged the request to transfer Stewart’s case to juvenile court.
Now that Stewart’s case will remain in adult court, he potentially faces several years in prison if convicted of the carjacking-related charges.
The investigation began at about 4:26 a.m. Sept. 8, 2024, when Lower Merion police responded to the parking lot of the 7-Eleven convenience store in the 1400 block of City Avenue for a report of an armed carjacking in progress. The victim told arriving officers that “a male pulled a firearm and took his vehicle from the parking lot as he exited the store,” according to a criminal complaint filed by Lower Merion Detective Michael Pleasants.
The victim said that as he exited the store and was walking to his locked vehicle, he observed a younger male wearing a light gray hoodie pulled up over his head approach him from the south side of the store, from behind a container of propane tanks.
The male, later identified as Stewart, stated to the victim, “Give me your keys,” to which the victim responded, “What do you mean?” according to court papers.
“At this, the suspect pulled up the bottom of his hoodie, reached down, and pulled out an all-black handgun,” Pleasants alleged in the arrest affidavit, adding the victim, upon seeing the firearm, responded, “Please don’t shoot me.” “(The victim) stated that he feared for his life and dropped the vehicle keys on the ground. The suspect picked them up, got in (the victim’s) Honda Accord and drove away.”
The stolen 2021 Honda Accord was last seen making a right turn onto southbound City Avenue.
A short time later, police found the unoccupied vehicle stopped on City Avenue. Officers later observed a person matching the description of the thief walking northbound on Malvern Avenue and attempted to conduct a pedestrian stop, but the suspect fled on foot.
As the suspect fled, “he appeared to retrieve an item from his waistband area,” detectives alleged.
“The suspect also dropped bags of suspected controlled substances, which were later recovered,” Pleasants alleged.
A firearm, a semiautomatic 9mm Polymer 80 handgun with no serial number, was recovered in the bushes in the 7300 block of Malvern Avenue.
“The firearm was loaded with a magazine and ammunition, with a round in the chamber. The firearm is consistent with the weapon the suspect utilized during the robbery,” Pleasants alleged.
A perimeter was established in the area and a K9 officer located Stewart in a wooded area to the rear of West End Drive, about 100 feet north of the entrance to Morris Park.
The victim subsequently identified Stewart as the person who stole his vehicle.
Stewart was 17 at the time and, by law, was not permitted to possess a firearm, authorities said.
During the investigation, the victim told detectives that he had a video system installed in his vehicle.
“Video footage was retrieved from the victim’s vehicle, which depicts the suspect operating the victim’s car southbound on City Avenue following the robbery,” Pleasants alleged.
When he was taken into custody, Stewart was found in possession of three foil packages of marijuana. Additional similar packages of controlled substances, marijuana and ecstasy, were located along the route that Stewart took while fleeing officers on foot, according to court papers.
