Man who inspired ‘Raise the Age’ pleads guilty to gun charge as trial was to start

The Albany man whose robbery conviction as a teenager helped spur the “Raise the Age” movement in Albany pleaded guilty to his latest crime Monday.

Marquis Dixon, 27, admitted to a criminal possession of a weapon charge 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 allegedly ran away from officers before they took him into custody.

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

Dixon was cited as an example of how the system failed youthful offenders. This case prompted lawmakers to raise the age in which teenagers were charged as adults.