A South Bend teen is heading to prison for the armed robbery of a drug dealer in Cass County.

Anthony Banks, 17, was sentenced Friday in Cass County Court to two to 15 years in prison on an armed robbery conviction. Banks will receive credit for 269 days already served. He also was handed a consecutive two-year prison term on a felony firearm conviction.

The offense occurred last year, according to Judge Michael Dodge, when Banks was involved in a marijuana deal with his uncle in Dowagiac. When his uncle gave Banks what he thought was an unfair price, Banks brandished a gun, took the drugs and fled, according to the police report.

When police attempted to arrest him, Banks attempted to run, leading to a resisting and obstructing conviction.

“Any time you introduce a weapon to a robbery, you are endangering human life,” said Prosecutor Victor Fitz. “We’re lucky it didn’t end up in a homicide. Mr. Banks needs to be made an example of.”

Defense attorney Stanley Wruble said the prosecutor was embellishing the story and said his client pulled the weapon in defense when the dealer tried to take his money.

“This wasn’t a premeditated crime like on the TV show ‘The Wire.’ It was in broad daylight,” Wruble said.

Wruble also asked the judge to deviate from the sentencing guidelines, which called for at least three years in prison, given the defendant’s youth.

“What he did was mitigated by his youth,” Wruble said. “It was two weeks after his 17th birthday.”

Dodge did deviate from the guidelines in giving Banks the two to 15-year sentence.

For his part, Banks was apologetic, calling the incident “very immature.”