The Albany man whose robbery conviction as a teenager helped spur the “Raise the Age” movement in Albany was sentenced on Friday to 9 years in prison on a weapons charge.

Marquis Dixon, 27, pleaded guilty in October to criminal possession of a weapon just as his trial was about to start. He was arrested on June, 20, 2023, after police said he illegally possessed a handgun in the area of 256 Clinton Ave. Officers were responding to a report of a man with a gun on Orange and Dove Streets. He ran away from officers before they took him into custody, according to police.

The June arrest happened a month after Dixon, who has been in and out of jail since 2016, was released from prison. He was convicted of robbery as a 16-year-old for stealing a pair of sneakers and sentenced to 9 years in prison.

However, an appellate judge reduced that sentence. Dixon’s case prompted to raise the age in which teenagers were charged as adults.

NewsChannel 13’s Steve Kuzj was in court and will have reaction to the verdict on air and online.