Robbery

Being charged with robbery can seem like the world is coming to an end. Robbery is not just theft. In California, the definition of robbery includes causing bodily injury or threatening bodily injury. With such severe life-changing consequences as mandatory prison sentences and a permanent felony record, the stakes are high.

Your future, your freedom, and your reputation are at stake, and you cannot afford to risk your case with a chance of failure or delay in your defense. Talk to the attorneys at Leah Legal Criminal Defense Attorney today for a confidential, detailed case evaluation. Our experienced Los Angeles attorneys will carefully review the evidence against you, defend your constitutional rights, and vigorously advocate for your freedom. Give us a call today, and let us get started putting together your defense. First, it helps to understand what the offense actually means. Here is what you need to know.

What Prosecutors Must Establish in a Robbery Case

The prosecution must prove every element of robbery beyond a reasonable doubt under California Penal Code Section 211. They are required to establish all of the elements of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

The elements are explained in California court jury instructions, CALCRIM 1600. You cannot be convicted of robbery if the prosecutor is not able to prove any of the following 4 elements:

1. Possession and Immediate Presence

The prosecutor has the burden of proving that you “took” property that is not yours from the victim’s immediate presence or immediate possession.

The law defines being in immediate possession of property as being in physical possession, or able to see, hear, or reach it, and to exercise control over it, provided it is not impeded by force or fear. It does not have to be in the victim’s hands. It may be on a counter next to him/her or across the room at the time you allegedly took it.

2. Against The Victim’s Will

The taking must have been done without the victim’s consent. This means that the prosecution would have to prove that the victim did not consent to the taking of the property. Consent shall be freely and voluntarily given and not obtained by force, undue influence, or given under duress. If they offer it up willingly without being threatened, this element is not satisfied.

3. Use of Force or Fear

This is the factor that can make a simple theft or shoplifting a violent felony robbery. The prosecution will have to show that you used physical force or fear to take the property or to stop the victim from resisting.

• Force — Physical strength exerted on the victim. It will have to exceed the basic physical work of lifting or moving the property. For instance, taking a wallet out of a pocket is not robbery. It is grand theft.

• Fear — This is the fear of bodily harm to the victim, family member, property, or someone else who was present during the incident

4. Specific Intent to Deprive

Robbery is considered a specific intent crime. The prosecutor is required to establish that you did so at the time you used force or fear, with the specific intent to deprive the owner of the property permanently or for a length of time that they would be deprived of a substantial part of the value or enjoyment of the property. If you actually formed the intent to take the item after a physical altercation, then the defense may argue that there was no robbery and that the item was taken in circumstances other than those of a robbery.

How Robbery Differs from Other Theft Crimes

Theft crimes may seem similar, but there are important differences in law regarding how and where property is stolen. When charged, knowing these differences is essential, as prosecutors often overcharge people based on common facts.

Robbery vs. Grand Theft Person (PC 487(c))

The difference between a person who committed grand theft and another accused of robbery is whether you interact with the victim. Grand theft is the direct removal of an item from the victim’s body, clothing, or immediate vicinity without any intention to return it. The offense relies on stealth. Any type of pickpocketing or stealth removal of a cell phone, whether done at the high or low level, is considered grand theft.

The crime escalates to robbery if the victim notices the attempt and successfully resists the abuser. The victim is then physically forced or threatened or physically struggles to retain the item.

Robbery vs Burglary (PC 459)

One of the major distinctions between robbery and burglary is the presence of a structure versus a person.

Burglary occurs when you enter a business, residence, room, or a locked vehicle to commit a felony or theft. There is no need for someone to be home or present for a burglary to happen.

Robbery is a confrontation with a person, however. Either charge can be brought at the same time. A person who enters a home intending to steal and then uses force or fear to take property from an occupant may be charged with both burglary and robbery.

How your defense attorney decides to approach your case depends on the offense you are charged with and the facts of the case. Certain theft offenses, including grand theft, may be charged as either misdemeanors or felonies, depending on the circumstances, and may result in a sentence to county jail for a lighter penalty.

On the other hand, robbery and residential burglary are felony offenses that can carry substantial prison sentences. Perhaps most importantly, a robbery conviction is legally considered a violent felony under California’s Three Strikes Law. This could result in a strike on your record once convicted. A robbery conviction can require serving a significantly longer prison sentence than many theft offenses.

How Shoplifting Can Become Robbery

Many people think that the only time there is a robbery is when someone is planning a classic mugging or a bank robbery. A shoplifting incident can be elevated to a violent felony under a legal doctrine known as an “Estes robbery.”

Understanding how this transformation occurs is critical if you are facing charges after an interaction with store security.

Picture going into a department store, putting a $50 shirt into a bag, and leaving without paying. You are, at this time, committing petty theft or shoplifting, which is usually treated as a misdemeanor.

However, when you exit, a plainclothes loss prevention officer steps up front, grabs you by the arm, and tells you to go back inside. Panicking, you run out to the parking lot, and you push the security guard away, you break their grip, and you run away with the shirt.

When you used physical force to break away, you were not just escaping. You just committed a felony robbery.

This legal trap is based on a California appellate court case, People v. Estes, from 1983. The law defines robbery as more than just the first act of taking the item. As per the law, robbery is not only about the means of escape but also about the retention of the property. If you resort to physical force or fear to prevent a store employee or security guard from recovering stolen merchandise, or to aid you in escaping while you hold the merchandise, then you satisfy all the elements of Penal Code Section 211.

The value of the property does not determine whether the offense is robbery. Using force or fear while retaining stolen property may support a robbery charge regardless of the property’s value. You can take $10 worth of batteries or a $1,000 laptop, but using a push, a kick, or a verbal threat against a loss prevention officer turns a minor theft into a violent crime.

The Difference Between First- and Second-Degree Robbery

Under California law, robbery is classified into two degrees:

• First-degree
• Second-degree

The difference lies in where it takes place and who is being targeted, not in what is taken. It is important to know how the state classifies these crimes, as first-degree charges carry more severe punishments.

First-Degree Robbery

First-degree robbery applies to situations in which the law affords greater protection to a victim deemed particularly vulnerable because of their location and circumstances. California Penal Code Section 212.5 defines robbery as first-degree when it comes with any of the following three elements:

1. Inhabited Structures (Home Invasion)

Robbery that occurs in an occupied house, floating home, trailer coach, or the occupied part of any other building is first-degree robbery. “Inhabited” is defined as being used as a dwelling, even if there are no occupants there at the time of the crime. This is often called a home invasion robbery.

2. ATM Robberies

Offenses against individuals in the financial services context are severely penalized. The incident may result in charges of first degree if the victim is using an automated teller machine (ATM) or remains within the ATM area immediately after completing his/her transaction.

3. Operators and Passengers of Public Transport

If the robbery occurs while the person is traveling in a taxicab, bus, streetcar, cable car, subway, or other public vehicle, it is considered first-degree robbery. Robberies involving taxicabs and other qualifying public vehicles may be charged as first-degree robbery.

Second-Degree Robbery

By definition, second-degree robbery includes any robbery that does not meet the specific criteria for first-degree robbery. Most robberies that do not meet the statutory requirements for first-degree robbery are charged as second-degree robbery.

Any of the following types of robbery would be classified as a second-degree robbery:

• Mugging on a public sidewalk
• Convenience store robbery
• Bank robbery
• Shoplifting that escalates into an Estes robbery

Penalties for Robbery Convictions

Robbery is one of the most severe offenses in the Penal Code of California. Robbery is considered to be a violent crime, and probation is seldom granted. State prison time is standard. The final sentence depends on the severity of the crime and any sentencing enhancements.

If you are convicted of robbery, the judge must select one of three alternative sentences, low, middle, or high, depending on the aggravating or mitigating circumstances of the case:

• First-degree robbery — 3, 4, or 6 years in state prison
• First-Degree robbery in concert — If you take part in a home invasion and participate voluntarily with 2 or more people, the penalty increases to 3, 6, or 9 years in state prison
• Second-degree robbery — 2, 3, or 5 years in state prison

Penal Code Section 1192.7 defines robbery as a serious felony and a violent felony. Under the state’s Three Strikes Law, the classification has immediate repercussions, namely:

• A mandatory strike — If you are convicted of a robbery, it will forever appear on your record
• 85% rule — Because robbery is classified as a violent felony, a defendant generally must serve at least 85% of the imposed sentence before becoming eligible for release credits
• Sentence doubling — A prior strike conviction under the Three Strikes Law can significantly increase the sentence for a new felony conviction. Your subsequent conviction will be double the baseline sentence if the robbery conviction results in a second strike on your record.

• Life sentence exposure — A third strike conviction may be meted out with a sentence of 25 years to life.

The 10-20-Life law (Penal Code Section 12022.53) provides additional consecutive prison time for any firearm used in a robbery. These enhancements apply even if the gun was unloaded or inoperable:

• An additional 10 years may be imposed if you personally used a firearm during the commission of the robbery

• The court credits 20 years for firing the gun on purpose during the commission of the crime
• 25 years to life added if the gun is fired and causes great bodily injury or death to any person other than an accomplice

For example, a second-degree robbery conviction with a high term of 5 years, combined with a 10-year gun enhancement, transforms a 5-year sentence into a 15-year term behind bars.

How to Fight Robbery Charges in California

Robbery charges can be very stressful, but remember that an arrest does not necessarily lead to a conviction. The prosecution has the burden of proving all of the elements of Penal Code Section 211 beyond a reasonable doubt.

Robbery is highly context-dependent, and the intent behind it is crucial. Several strong legal defenses can be used to fight the state’s case, secure a reduction to a lesser charge for robbery, or have the case entirely dismissed. They include the following:

The Absence of Force or Fear

The key to making a theft a violent felony robbery is the use of physical force or fear. The theft of the property must have been committed by force or by other means of intimidation. Otherwise, the robbery charge will not be upheld.

A good defense argument can show that the interaction was not violent or threatening. If you took an item when its owner was distracted, for instance, or if an item was handed over by its owner but the owner only regrets it later, there is no element of coercion. Even if you are still charged with misdemeanor petty theft or felony grand theft, you will avoid a violent felony charge and the record points that come with it when the force or fear element is eliminated.

This missing link can be established by attorneys who will analyze the surveillance footage and witness testimony. This is an effective way to show that no weapon was displayed, no verbal threat was made, and no physical contact occurred. This strategic move is the one that puts the entire courtroom narrative on property value, not on the safety of the individual.

Claim of Right Defense

Legally, you cannot steal something that you honestly believe belongs to you. The claim of right defense applies when you legitimately believe that the property you took is your own or that you have a legal right to possess it.

A claim-of-right defense may apply when you genuinely and in good faith believed you had a legal right to the specific property. However, this defense does not apply to the seizure of unlawful gambling debts or unlawful drug debts.

Furthermore, the defense is only available for particular property that you have a right to possess and not for random property of comparable value to help pay off a debt. This is important because if you take someone’s laptop because he/she owes you money, that does not mean that it is your own personal property.

When you see someone riding a bicycle you found in your garage the week before, you approach him to try to get your bike back, not to steal it. Under limited circumstances, a good-faith claim of right may negate the intent required for theft-related offenses. If the intention is to take ownership, the essential element of robbery is eliminated.

Mistaken Identity and Unreliable Eyewitnesses

Robbery is typically a high-stress, chaotic, and quick event. This leaves eyewitness identification extremely suspect.

A victim or bystander may be weapon-focused during an intense incident and fixate on a knife or gun, not the person carrying it. Other factors, such as poor lighting, disguises, cross-racial identification issues, and the passage of time, further compromise a witness’s memory.

To counter this, a strategic defense does the following:

• Challenging the validity of police lineups and photo arrays that could be suggestive
• Providing solid alibi evidence (cell phone GPS records, time-stamped surveillance video, and work logs) to show that you were somewhere else completely at the time of the crime.
• Using expert witness information to explain to the jury how memory can be distorted during traumatic experiences.

The initial description to the police immediately after the incident is also reviewed by defense attorneys. If there is any incongruity between those early statements and how you actually look, for example, issues like height, weight, tattoos, and facial hair can cause major issues. Attorneys will also examine whether detectives prompted witnesses by manipulating their recollections of events. The introduction of these weaknesses enables the defense to request that the judge exclude the identification itself from the trial, thereby excluding unreliable evidence from the jury.

False Accusation and Fabricated Claims

Unfortunately, individuals sometimes lie to the authorities to protect themselves, seek revenge, or gain personal gain. Often, false accusations of robbery are made in the context of complex interpersonal relationships or criminal activity.

A common scenario involves a drug transaction or a commercial dispute that goes bad. One party may call the police if he/she feels he/she was cheated or does not want to pay a debt. In this case, he/she may claim that he/she was mugged, arrest the other party, and pretend that he/she is innocent.

Moreover, those charged with a crime may concoct a robbery narrative to avoid charges, secure a more favorable deal with the prosecutor, or attract sympathy from investigators. A fabricated accusation in a custody battle or in the heat of an acrimonious divorce can also be used to secure an instant upper hand in a custody case or a restraining order trial.

The investigation of a false accusation must be thorough to find out the real reason. A defense attorney can question the credibility of the alleged victim before the prosecutor or the jury by closely examining the witness’s social media messages, text messages, and inconsistencies in his/her account.

Searching through financial records or locating independent witnesses may reveal these hidden motives and systematically deconstruct the accuser’s narrative, compelling the prosecution to rethink its case.

Find a Los Angeles Robbery Defense Attorney Near Me

Robbery carries grave repercussions, as it threatens your freedom, reputation, and future. The dire consequences of the Three Strikes Law and devastating enhancements to firearm technology simply cannot be taken lightly. An arrest is not a conviction, and viable legal strategies exist to fight these heavy charges.

Take immediate control of your case. Call Leah Legal Criminal Defense Attorney at 213-444-7818 for a confidential consultation. We will vigorously assert your rights in court and dispute the Los Angeles prosecution’s evidence.