My first thought was that if he is reformed, why didn't he own up to his crime? Part of being responsible is... actually being responsible for your actions. Responsible people don't shirk their debts. Failing to appear (another crime) and calling foul when finally caught doesn't sound responsible to me.
Plus how is robbery with a BB gun an armed robbery?
In many, and possibly most states, pointing any gun, even a fake gun, is armed robbery. Just saying that you have a gun is also armed robbery. If you choose to use a weapon or say that you are using a weapon to commit a crime, your victim is not in a position to determine the legitimacy of the threat. Thus, you've used the threat of force in your crime.
Best suggestion: Don't point any weapon in anyone's face, and if you know you have a jail sentence, know that they'll eventually catch up with you if you walk away from your punishment.
He didn't fail to appear. Read the article.
"and calling foul when finally caught doesn't sound responsible to me."
I'm pretty sure that it's people with common sense that are calling foul. Perhaps yours rolled under the desk. Did you check? It should scare you that the evil government clowns have no common sense. I know it scares Cliven Bundy...
and if you know you have a jail sentence, know that they'll eventually catch up with you if you walk away from your punishment.
OK - once again, he didn't walk away from his punishment. Did you read some article written by the evil clown prosecutor for St. Charles County, the one with no common sense?