I agree -- if this were the case pretty much any team of criminals could say the same thing - basically the oldest would be the ring leader in all cases and the followers would be held to a lesser degree.
This older vs younger thing isn't always the case. I served on a murder trial before that was two brothers accused of murder. The younger was actually the ring leader aggressive one - the older much more mild -- both were equally charged. Both were guilty got life and a day even though the younger was the one who actually grabbed and killed the victim and went back and hit the man in the head with a rock to make sure he was dead.
