Mushroom Man

Oh man, this boy needs some help right now.
I got a call from my ex crying because her little brother (who just turned 15) got arrested for ARMED ROBBERY in North Carolina. Heres the basic rundown and im changing the names for respect of these kids:
Tom and Chris (Chris being my ex's youngest brother) set up another kid for 500 dollars worth of weed. From what my ex tells me Tom and Chris used a fake gun and pointed it at the dealer while in Toms car and, you guessed it, robbed the kid of all the weed he had. They made off but a few hours later cops were banging on Toms door arresting him on the spot and then made their way to Chris and got him in custody.
So both are charged with felony armed robbery.

1. Is there anyway he's somewhat 'safe' for being a minor
2. Is it even possible to get a robbery charge over marijuana? I now assume you can, but is there any way he could use that in his defense?

I know what most of you are thinking, that what the hell does a 15 year old kid have buisness doing robbing kids especially for marijuana of all things, and I am with you there. However I don't think he is gonna deserve the harsh punishment he will get. Anyone have advice I can give her so she can help her brother? (Tom is screwed as he is 17 and he's a shady man so im not willing as much to help him out)

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