Suspect in 15-year-old's homicide has violent history in Cape

Isaiah M. Lane, the man accused of killing 15-year-old Madison Robinson on her front porch Saturday night, was her age when he and an accomplice robbed a Cape Girardeau restaurant 14 years ago.

According to Southeast Missourian files, Lane was 15 when he and Semaj Lumas, then 16, robbed the KFC restaurant, 2101 William St., at gunpoint July 21, 2005, netting approximately $2,200.

Although they were juveniles, Lane and Lumas were certified to stand trial as adults and faced sentences of up to life in prison for first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. Lane also faced another four years in prison in connection with his guilty plea for unlawful use of a weapon by firing a shotgun in the air during a dispute near the intersection of Frederick Street and Jefferson Avenue in August 2005.

During the KFC robbery, Lane reportedly pointed a gun at the head of a restaurant employee. KFC employees said Lane and Lumas threatened to kill them.

Lane and Lumas pleaded guilty to the KFC robbery and were each sentenced to 10 years in prison by Circuit Judge William Syler.

He also sentenced the pair to three years for armed criminal action and Lane also received a four-year prison sentence for the unlawful use of a weapon charge. All sentences ran concurrently.

Because of their ages, Lane and Lumas were eligible for the state’s dual jurisdiction program. The program, run by the Division of Youth Services, aims at rehabilitating youths certified as adults.

The teens would have been accepted into the program had the judge ruled in favor of that, assistant prosecuting attorney Angel Woodruff told the Southeast Missourian at the time. Woodruff is also handling the current homicide case.

Division director Paul Bolerjack said at the time the Division of Youth Services had recommended youths be sentenced to the program 46 times. Each time the court had followed that recommendation.

However, Syler said at the time while the dual jurisdiction program had a good track record with juvenile offenders, he did not feel it was appropriate for Lane and Lumas.

“This is a crime of violence and a crime of greed,” Syler said at the sentencing hearing in February 2006.