California Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

On January 28, a Santa Ana couple was robbed at gun point while sitting in their car. According to authorities, while sitting in the back seat of their car, in Santa Ana, Orange County, CA, the couple were startled when a man appeared at the window, tapped on it and pointed a gun at them. He then demanded money from them. Fearing that they would be shot, the woman opened the door and handed her purse to the man. He then ran from the scene.

In California, the definition of robbery is the taking of someone else's property from the person's body or immeditae possession, when accomplished by force or fear. This is a felony offense, punishable by two to nine years in State Prison. To be convicted of robbery, the prosecution must prove: 1) you took property that didn't belong to you; 2) you took property from another person's possession or immediate presence; 3) you took the property against the person's will; 4) you used force or fear and 5) you took the property with the intent to deprive the owner of it permanently or for such a period of time that the owner would be deprived of a major portion of the value or enjoyment of the property.

In California, Robbery is a Felony. However, the length of your sentence depends on whether your are convicted of 1st Degree Robbery or 2nd Degree Robbery. 1st Degree Robbery carries a sentence of three to nine years in State Prison. 2nd Degree Robbery carries a sentence of two to five years in State Prison. If there is more than one victim, as in this case, you face conviction of, and punishment for, multiple counts of robbery.

Also, this man faces the possibility of sentence enhancements, along with the above penalties. Some sentence enhancements include, 1) great bodily injury during a robbery, 2) robbery for the benefit of, in association with or at the direction of a criminal street gang and, 3) the use of a gun during the robbery. An additional ten years in prison can be imposed if you use a gun, twenty years for firing a gun and 25 years to life for killing or seiously injuring another person with a gun while commiting the crime of robbery.

There are legal defenses to robbery that a good Orange County Criminal Defense attorney should be aware of. Some of the more common ones are: You didn't intend to take the property; No force or fear was used; Claim of Right; Mistaken Identity; and False Accusations. There are a variety of situations in which these defenses can and should be used. A good Criminal Defense Attorney, specializing in Robbery will know how to use these defenses to get the best possible outcome for his client.