It took Cory Judge just 10 minutes to make decisions that cost him seven years of his life.

On Tuesday, the convicted felon shared his lessons about making good choices with 22 Gloucester youths in the weeklong Virginia Rules Camp sponsored by the Gloucester Sheriff’s Office. 

“I had parents that worked and cared about me. I thought I was getting away with it. You think you’re invincible at that age—drug dealin’, gun violence, robberies. I robbed drug dealers and thought that was okay because they were doing wrong. That led to life plus 20 years. The choices that I made led up to this. It was the first and only time I dealt with the law,” Judge told his audience. 

“I thought I knew it all. Life is about choices and decisions. You make the wrong decisions and you get the biggest consequences. And I had a good support system. No parents think their child is going down that road.” 

Judge, who grew up in Williamsburg, said ...