NORWICH – The man who robbed a South New Berlin gas station in January pleaded guilty in Chenango County Supreme Court Wednesday and was sentenced to five years in state prison and five years post release supervision.

Joel L. Lewis, 22 of Oxford, initially pleaded guilty to first degree robbery in court, as part of his plea agreement with the Chenango County District Attorney’s Office, but had his charge reduced to second degree robbery after he told the court the gun used in the crime was not loaded.

After pleading guilty to the first degree charge before Supreme Court Justice Kevin M. Dowd, Acting Intern Prosecutor Meredith Birdsall asked a few follow up questions in court, one of them being, “Was the gun loaded at the time of the robbery?” Lewis immediately responded “No. No it wasn’t.”

A few moments after the plea was made, District Attorney Joseph McBride, who was also in the courtroom, raised concern that the first degree charge required that the weapon be loaded. After reviewing state law in court, Dowd reduced the charged to the second degree but kept the sentence the same.

“Once you bring a weapon into the equation you’ve crossed the line and now you’re in the big leagues,” Dowd told Lewis. Dowd ordered that Lewis pay back the $169 he stole from the South New Berlin Quickway before he finished his prison sentence.

“I don’t mind the fees and other things being paid after you get out, but you’ll have to pay restitution before you’re released, either through a third party or through your wages in prison,” he said.

Defense Attorney Linden Summers said he knew Lewis from the area and had represented him in lower court on a prior occasion.