A Columbus teen with a history of stealing vehicles was sentenced to prison on Monday after violating the terms of his probation. On Monday, 19-year-old Akie Benjamin was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook. The sentence comes just months after Benjamin was granted community control on charges of felonious assault and receiving stolen property. Holbrook originally opted for leniency in March, saying he hoped the teen would turn his life around. "It's one of those times where, do I take the chance or not?" Holbrook told 10TV's Lacey Crisp after that March hearing. "I figured in this situation, taking the chance with a bigger mallet over his head because point blank is I'll deliver the consequences if he screws this up." Holbrook made the initial decision to release Benjamin under strict supervision rather than send him to prison. At the time, Holbrook said the fact that no one was physically harmed played a key role in his ruling. “We are caught up into the game. I was told by the prosecutor no one was hurt. That was important to me. If someone would have been hurt, it would have been a different decision,” Holbrook said in March. Benjamin has been associated with the so-called "Kia Boys," a group tied to a rise in vehicle thefts — particularly Kias and Hyundais — across central Ohio. 10TV has reported extensively on the trend, and on Benjamin's repeated encounters with law enforcement.