Syracuse Basketball Coach’s Wife Robbed At Gunpoint By 12 Year Old

Syracuse, NY – The wife of Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim was robbed at gunpoint outside a shopping mall earlier this month.

The incident occurred at about 2 p.m. on March 1 in the parking lot of the Destiny USA mall near The Cheesecake Factory, The Post-Standard reported.

Police said that 12-year-old boy spoke to Julie Boeheim before he pointed a gun at her and then reached into her car and grabbed her purse.

The thief was with three other men and they fled the mall parking lot in a stolen vehicle, according to The Post-Standard.

Police recovered the stolen vehicle on the east side of Syracuse on March 8.

The 12-year-old suspect was arrested later that day.

Police said the boy had used an air gun to rob the 55-year-old Julie Boeheim, The Post-Standard reported.

The 12 year old was booked into the Hillbrook Detention Center on charges of second-degree robbery, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and fourth-degree grand larceny.

The victim’s husband said that his wife had been affected by the robbery, The Post-Standard reported.

“She’s definitely shook up,” Jim Boeheim said. “I mean, this isn’t television. It’s not movies. It’s real life.”

“Somebody puts a gun in your face. She’s handling it well, better than I probably would or most people, I think,” the coach said. “But it’s not easy. She’s a little shook but I think she’s doing much better than could be expected.”

Police did not release the name of the suspect in the robbery of Julie Boeheim because of his age, TMZ reported.

Jim Boeheim said his wife was more worried about the boy who robbed her than her own safety.

“Her main thought was, ‘Let’s help this kid,'” the coach told TMZ. “That’s what she does and what we do with our foundation is try to help these kids.”

“That was the first thing that she said, ‘I feel like I want to get this kid, and help this kid.’ But that’s the way she thinks. That’s who she is. She tries to help people. That’s what she does.”