Alexander Krouskas’ mother handed her son his jacket, and they left the courtroom with more than a half-dozen family members. Of the four former Walt Whitman High School students who were tried as adults for robbery of a Bethesda Smoothie King in March 2006, Krouskas was the only one who did not leave Circuit Court in handcuffs.
Nearly a month after Krouskas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge David A. Boynton sentenced Krouskas on Feb. 1 to three years’ imprisonment, with all suspended but four months’ home confinement. Krouskas also received one year of supervised probation, 50 hours of community service and was ordered to make restitution.
"I’m pleased. I’m relieved," said Mariana Cordier, Krouskas’ defense attorney, who said she’d expected a five-day jail sentence for her client. She’d brought a bag with sneakers Krouskas could change into if he received a jail sentence. "He was prepared to go to jail," Cordier said.
All five of the codefendants, all juniors at Walt Whitman High School at the time of the offense, have now been sentenced. Robert Warren and Justin Schweiger were each sentenced to 30 days in jail. Patrick Lazear received a 10-day jail sentence. Thomas Ashley III was transferred for the juvenile justice system, and received 100 hours of community service.
KROUSKAS WAS SPARED jail time, in part, because Boynton believed he’d shown some reservation about the scheme. When the robbery scheme became a reality, Boynton said, Krouskas showed some concern. "You have at least some fabric of morality in your body," Boynton told Krouskas.
Krouskas was an employee at the Smoothie King, and was working there when the robbery occurred. According to court testimony, the codefendants all discussed a plan to rob the Smoothie King during a tech-ed class at Whitman on the same day the robbery occurred. Krouskas, according to testimony, told the codefendants there were security cameras at Smoothie King. The plan, as described by several of the codefendants’ attorneys, was to stage a robbery using an inoperable handgun.
But Krouskas began having second thoughts later in the day, according to testimony from Warren. Warren testified that he entered Smoothie King expecting to see Krouskas. Instead, out came Krouskas’ coworker who did not know about the plan.
At Krouskas’ sentencing hearing, Cordier described her client as a follower who heard about the plan his classmates hatched for the robbery, but expressed doubts and second thoughts about it. "We acknowledge he failed to withdraw," Cordier said, but "at least he displayed a conscience."
Krouskas’ mother Zoe Calormiris Krouskas, who testified at Krouskas’ sentencing hearing, said that Alex was a regular teenager who liked to fix conflict when it occurred. "He’s not a leader. He’s average; he’s a middle child," Calomiris Krouskas said.
ASSISTANT STATE’S Attorney Tom DeGonia requested an active jail sentence for Krouskas. Every codefendant was in a different situation, DeGonia said, and needed to be considered in a different light for sentencing. Referring to prior testimony, DeGonia said that Krouskas had warned the codefendants that there were security cameras in the store.
"But for the information that Mr. Krouskas provided … [the offense] would not have gone down in the manner that it did."
Krouskas also did nothing to stop his coworker from reporting the event to the police as an armed robbery, DeGonia said. He asked that Krouskas received a three-year prison sentence, with all suspended but a period of local incarceration. "There has to be a consequence, based on the seriousness of the offense," DeGonia said. "His role in the crime was integral. … For his role he has to be held accountable."
Cordier asked for home confinement, even an extended sentence, instead of time in jail. If the court sentenced Krouskas to jail, she asked that it be limited to five days. "I’m really begging for the first option, of the home detention," she said.
JUST BEFORE SENTENCING Krouskas, Judge Boynton asked him if he wished to speak. Krouskas spoke at length about committing the offense, and answered several additional questions from Boynton.
"I’m very sorry for what I did," Krouskas said. He apologized to family, his former employers at Smoothie King, and DeGonia. "If there was any way I could take back my actions, I would, and I’m extremely remorseful."
"I think the sincerity of his remorse, and the fact that he wanted to withdraw from the conspiracy … showed," Cordier said. "He is sincerely remorseful. He is not taking this lightly whatsoever."
Neither was Krouskas’ family. Because of his involvement in the offense, Krouskas’ mother testified, he was not getting his driver’s license and was not allowed to participate in sports this year. "At this point, he didn’t deserve it," his mother said.
DeGonia called Krouskas’ family "one of the strongest, most loving families" he’d seen in the courtroom. Krouskas’ grandfather, Leon Calomiris, testified at the sentencing hearing. When asked what type of person Alex was, Calomiris said, "That’s a loaded question; I’m his grandfather." Calomiris said that Alex admitted last year that he’d been involved in something wrong. He took responsibility for what he’d done, and Calomiris considered that a plus. He added, however, "When you take responsibility, sometimes you have to pay the price."
Calomiris related it to a time from his own childhood, when as a student at a Washington, D.C. school, he’d gotten into a snowball fight and accidentally hit the school principal. The principal told him, "I suffered the circumstances, but you’re going to suffer the consequences."
AS WITH THE other four codefendants, Montgomery County Public Schools transferred Krouskas out of Whitman. Krouskas now attends Albert Einstein High School in Kensington, and expects to graduate this spring. Cordier said he plans to attend Montgomery College, where he is already enrolled in a mathematics course.
"I wish you good luck in the future," Boynton said to Krouskas after reading the sentence. "You have to get this behind you."
'YOU REALIZE YOUR LIFE IS OVER'
Have you ever known anyone who was the victim of an armed robbery?
This was the question Judge David A. Boynton asked Alex Krouskas minutes before sentencing him for his role in the March 2006 robbery of a Bethesda Smoothie King.
Krouskas said he’d seen victims describe the experience on Court TV, but it hadn’t happened to anybody he knew. "It could have a dramatic impact," Krouskas said.
Correct, said Boynton. Thirty-four years ago, Boynton was the victim of an armed robbery. While working at a 7-Eleven, Boynton said, the store was robbed, and a man ordered him at gunpoint to open a safe in the store. But Boynton knew there wasn’t much in the safe.
"I’ll never forget when I was leaning over … the terror that came over me at the time, I can’t even describe," Boynton said.
Your life flashes before your eyes, Boynton said, and you know that your life is in the hands of the person with the weapon. "You realize that your life is over."
"It’s something that you never really outlive," Boynton said. Even 34 years later, he feels wary whenever he steps into a 7-Eleven, and always scopes out the people in the store when he enters one.
Boynton said that Krouskas’ coworker at Smoothie King would probably be affected the same way. According to prior trial testimony, codefendant Robert Warren entered the Smoothie King wearing a mask, swim goggles and a hooded sweatshirt, and carrying an inoperable gun that he pointed at Krouskas’ coworker, who gave Warren $463.
"He’s a young man; he’s going to live with this for a long time," Boynton said.
"I think after the robbery occurred, I felt bad for [the other employee]. That’s why I told him it was a fake gun," Krouskas said.
KROUSKAS' SENTENCE
Nearly a month after Alexander Krouskas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, Judge David A. Boynton Krouskas on Feb. 1 to three years’ imprisonment, with all suspended but four months’ home confinement, one year of supervised probation, joint responsibility with the other codefendants for $463 in restitution, and 50 hours of community service.
The sentence was almost exactly what Mariana Cordier, Krouskas’ defense attorney, sought for her client. Cordier asked for home confinement instead jail time, even if it meant a longer sentence. She said that Krouskas’ family took his role in the offense seriously, and did not allow him to get his driver’s license or play sports at Einstein High School this year (Krouskas was on the varsity wrestling team at Whitman last year).
Boynton said that Maryland’s sentencing guidelines called for a sentence ranging from probation to three years’ imprisonment. "People that did exactly what you did have gotten [sentenced to] three years. What do you think about that?" Boynton asked Krouskas. Those who receive a three-year sentence are led in handcuffs out of the courtroom, and they don’t come out for three years, the judge said. He invited Krouskas to do the math and figure out how many days of incarceration that means.
Krouskas said he spent about nine hours in jail when he was arrested last May. Judge Boynton asked him what it was like.
"I saw a lot of people who weren’t as fortunate as me in terms of their background," Krouskas said, adding that he saw some inmates who’d been repeatedly incarcerated. "It wasn’t pleasant," Krouskas said. "It was an experience, I guess."
Boynton continued to ask Krouskas questions about his plans for the future, and how his family had responded after learning about Krouskas’ arrest. Boynton felt that Krouskas was mature for his age in some respects, immature in other respects.
"You seem to be a person that has a lot on the ball; you seem to have good goals," Boynton said. Krouskas also had no prior convictions. Just before reading the sentence, Boynton said, "I’m the kind of person that’s willing to give someone a second chance."