"Mama, please make sure he never gets out of jail." Those were the words of a 9-year-old victim who was in the store with his mother and grandmother the day Henry Antonio Taylor held up the Cartersville store.
Taylor was given a life sentence plus 30 years by Judge Carey Nelson Tuesday morning in Bartow Superior Court.
His co-defendant, Corey Mandrill Thompson, pleaded guilty in January and received a 40-year sentence, to serve 20 in prison and the remainder on probation.
Nelson said this is one of the most "tremendous" cases he has heard during his time on the bench.
"It's disturbing that a small child was involved, and you have unnecessarily ruined this child's life," Nelson told Taylor.
According to the mother, the boy deals with trauma from the hold-up.
"He's in counseling and can't go to any stores without thinking they're going to be robbed," she said to Taylor, adding those are worries a 9-year-old should not face.
Taylor maintained his innocence, but apologized.
"My heart goes out to them. I'm not the type of dude that will do that -- I'm not the guy," he told the judge.
The men robbed Metro PCS located at 110 Merchants Square on July 29, 2010. Four people, including an employee, were held at gunpoint in the back of the store as Taylor and Thompson took money from the register and safe.
Another person, Kristy Nicole Richardson, was found not guilty in January; she was allegedly the getaway driver. A jury found that Richardson was unaware of the men's intentions when she gave them a ride to the Guesthouse Inn, located near the store.
The prosecuting attorney in the case said Tuesday that one of the witnesses for Taylor contacted the court shortly after the verdict and admitted to being untruthful about Taylor's whereabouts on the day of the robbery.
In addition to his sentence, Taylor must pay $1,367 in restitution to Metro PCS.