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West Palm Beach Robbery Defense Attorney Josh LeRoy on:

Robbery & Related Charges

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An experienced West Palm Beach Robbery Attorney can make all the difference in the world when it comes to your final sentence-potentially years of your life. A few of the most common charges that fall into the robbery category are detailed below.

Before hiring a Robbery Defense Attorney, what should I know about: F.S. 812.13?

In Florida, robbery is the intentional taking of property of another person coupled with violence or the threat of violence. It can include knocking someone over to take their wallet, walking into a gas station, demanding money while brandishing a gun, and even threatening to punch someone if they don’t give you a dollar.

Many different offenses fall under the charge of robbery, such as carjacking (essentially the robbery of a car), home invasion robbery (essentially the robbery of a home), and armed robbery (essentially robbery involving a weapon). It is a crime of violence.

Many variables in these cases affect the outcome and possible punishments. One very important

variable is whether the defendant was carrying a gun or other deadly weapon during the crime’s commission. Using a weapon in a robbery is a much more serious crime, resulting in harsher sentences.

Also, carjacking and home invasion constitute 1st-degree felonies, regardless of whether the defendant was carrying a weapon. That means carjacking and a home invasion are each punishable by up to thirty (30) years in prison.

In contrast, robbery is a 2nd-degree felony and carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 15 years—a second important consideration.

The charge is punishable by life imprisonment if a firearm is involved and falls under the 10/20/life sentencing requirements. In other words, any robbery where a gun is used, brandished, or even carried but not used or brandished results in at least a ten (10) year term of imprisonment.

In Palm Beach County, the State Attorney will pursue a prison sentence for anyone with a robbery charge. The State Attorney prosecutes robbery charges especially vigorously.

What is the definition of robbery according to the State of Florida?

Robbery is taking someone’s property with force or threat or the intent of taking someone’s property or committing a crime.

What common defenses would a Good West Palm Beach Robbery Attorney use?

Yes, there are. But your best course of action is to contact our firm and discuss your options with a qualified robbery defense attorney. The court must prove that you did not have a right to the property or that the property owner did not give you consent to use or take said property.

Are there different punishments for a conviction in Palm Beach County?

Yes, depending on whether you had a weapon, had the intent to use that weapon, or did use that weapon, the punishment and degree of a felony will change drastically.

Is it possible to get out of the charge?

Contact us to share your information and evidence, and we will point you in the right direction. A conviction isn’t impossible to fight, and we can help.

What is Robbery by Sudden Snatching: F.S. 812.131?

Florida law defines robbery by sudden snatching as the “…taking of money or other property from the victim’s person, with the intent to permanently or temporarily deprive the victim or the owner of the money or other property, when, in the course of the taking, the victim was or became aware of the taking.”

For convicting a person accused of this crime, the law does not require the State to show that the defendant used excessive force. Nor does the State need to prove the victim tried to resist or was injured during the robbery.

What are the penalties for robbery by sudden snatching?

• As a third-degree felony, Robbery by Sudden Snatching is punishable by a range of penalties from a term of probation up to 5 years in state prison.
• If the State alleges the defendant used a firearm in the robbery, the crime is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in state prison.

What common defenses would an experienced West Palm Beach Robbery Defense Attorney use for a sudden snatching charge?

In some cases, a defendant argues that he had a lawful claim on, and so was recovering, the object taken.

Also, the State cannot introduce evidence that it obtained in violation of the Constitution.

A critical task of a robbery attorney is to thoroughly research the facts and corresponding law to determine if agents of the State broke the law themselves in collecting evidence against the accused. It happens very often, and revealing these illegal acts is the lifeblood of the work of a criminal defense attorney.

When the State acquires evidence through violations of the Constitution, the defendant’s robbery defense attorney should ask the judge to exclude the evidence from the case. If the judge does so, the State, concluding it can no longer win at trial, will commonly drop the case or offer a highly desirable plea agreement to resolve the case without going to trial.

What is Robbery Using a Deadly Weapon: F.S. 812.13?

According to Florida Statutes, robbery is a crime that occurs by “…taking of money or other property which may be the subject of larceny from the person or custody of another, with intent to either permanently or temporarily deprive the person or the owner of the money or other property, when in the course of the taking there is the use of force, violence, assault, or putting in fear.”

What are the penalties for Robbery Using a Deadly Weapon?

As a first-degree felony, robbery Using a Deadly Weapon punishable by up to 30 years in state prison.

In addition, because the Florida Legislature considers the crime so severe, the law imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in jail.

What defenses would a skilled Robbery Attorney use to defend against a Using a Deadly Weapon charge?

One defense to robbery is the claim of entitlement, that is to say, the property actually belonged to the accused. And the use of a deadly weapon may, depending on the circumstances, be lawful if the accused needed the weapon for self-defense.

In addition, the law imposes a strict requirement on agents of the State to obtain evidence lawfully, in compliance with the Constitution. If the State violated the Constitution, the defendant might be able to win the case by successfully moving the judge to exclude the tainted evidence from the State’s case.

When that happens, the State, finding it can no longer expect to win at trial, often drops the case entirely or offers a plea agreement that the defendant will find desirable.

Before hiring a West Palm Beach Home Invasion Robbery Attorney, what should I know about: F.S. 812.135?

Home Invasion Robbery is a very serious criminal charge! Home invasion robbery is defined as illegal entry into a house, or other dwelling, with the intent to commit a robbery to, and does, commit a robbery of the occupants.

A single home-invasion robbery charge applies no matter how many in the dwelling a robbery involves. That differs from robbery charges, where each person robbed can be charged separately.

Home-invasion robbery is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years of jail time, 30 years of probation, and thousands of dollars in fines. Like other felony offenses, the penalty for home-invasion robbery increases significantly if a firearm or other deadly weapon is used or carried during the commission of the crime.

If a firearm or other deadly weapon was used or carried during the commission of the crime, then the crime is punishable by life in prison. A home invasion robbery with a firearm or other deadly weapon is a level 10 offense, the highest-level offense in Florida’s criminal punishment code.

If a gun is used or carried during a home invasion robbery, the 10-20-life punishments apply.

To be convicted of home invasion robbery, the State must prove that the person charged entered the dwelling with the intent to commit a robbery and committed the robbery once inside. Usually, the State will rely on statements of victims, video evidence, and forensic evidence to prove the charge.

Just because you allegedly committed the crime doesn’t necessarily mean you will be found guilty.

What’s “Home Invasion Burglary”?

In Florida, “home invasion burglary” is a robbery that happens inside a home. It is different from a burglary charge because home-invasion robbery requires taking property by force or fear from the occupants of the dwelling, not just taking property from the dwelling itself.

What are the punishments for “home invasion robbery” in Palm Beach County?

A weaponless home invasion robbery is a first-degree felony punishable by up to thirty years in prison. Per Florida’s Sentencing Code, the mandatory minimum sentence if convicted of a weaponless home invasion robbery is 34.5 months in jail.

If a gun or other deadly weapon is used or carried, the minimum amount of time in prison also increases.

Can a West Palm Beach Home Invasion Attorney Help Me with a Robbery with A Firearm charge: F.S. 812.135?

Also known as “home-invasion robbery,” robbery with a firearm occurs when someone “…enters a dwelling with the intent to commit a robbery and does commit a robbery of the occupants therein.”

Sometimes the State charges the defendant with home invasion robbery “with a weapon.” However, the elements, defenses, and penalties are effectively the same as those for robbery with a firearm.

What are the penalties for Home Invasion Robbery with a Firearm?

As a first-degree, life felony, robbery with a firearm is punishable by penalties ranging from a term of probation up to life in prison.

What common defenses are used by skilled Home Invasion Attorneys for a Robbery with a Firearm charge?

A valid defense to this charge is a “claim of right,” which means the defendant had a lawful claim on the property that was wrongfully in possession of another.

Perhaps the most critical defense is demonstrating that the State obtained its evidence against the defendant in violation of the Constitution.

An excellent robbery attorney develops this defense through careful and thorough research of the pertinent facts and law. When the State obtains its evidence unlawfully, the defendant, through his robbery defense lawyer, asks the judge to exclude the tainted evidence from the case as the remedy for punishing the State for its unlawful conduct.

When the judge grants this request, the State, finding it can no longer prevail at trial, often drops the case or offers a highly desirable plea offer to resolve the controversy.

Related Cases

ROBBERY & MURDER

• • The Incident: During a convenience store robbery in Belle Glade, an assailant shot and killed the store’s owner. The entire incident was captured on the store’s surveillance video.
  • The Evidence: The Incident was captured on the store’s video. The robber was arrested and confessed to his involvement in the robbery and homicide. The State presented extensive phone calls and text messaging records exchanged between the client and the shooter, as well as video surveillance from the morning of the crime showing the client entered and exited the store just minutes before the shooting occurred.
  • The Accused: After the crime, my client was accused of going to the assailant’s house and retaking possession of his gun to destroy it. The gun was never recovered. The assailant’s mother also testified that she saw the assailant give my client the gun.
  • The Charges: Accessory after the Fact to First-Degree Murder. Initially, my client was charged with helping the assailant hide the gun after the murder. Yet, in reality, the State, at trial, alleged that the client provided the gun to the assailant and planned the crime with the assailant.
  • My Counsel & Defense: I attacked the credibility of the State’s witnesses and questioned what the evidentiary value of the video and phone/text records actually were relative to the charges against my client. The evidence did not establish that the client had any part in hiding or destroying that firearm and, therefore, no part in assisting the shooter in covering up what he did.
  • The VERDICT: The jury returned a verdict of NOT GUILTY. When the State and Court refused to DISMISS the charge of being a Felon in Actual Possession of a Firearm, a Writ of Prohibition was filed with the Fourth District Court of Appeals. The Writ was granted, and the State was required to drop the Felon in Possession Charge.

Related laws:
Felon In Possession of a Firearm
Robbery
Murder

HOME INVASION & ROBBERY WITH A FIREARM

• The Incident: Home invasion of local expecting parents. A perpetrator armed with a firearm forced his way into their home and demanded money. He waved the gun at the pregnant mother-to-be’s belly, threatening their unborn child, promising to shoot them unless they complied. After obtaining the money, the perpetrator ordered the man and woman into the bathroom and fled the scene.
• The Accused: He was visibly shaken and for a good reason! He qualified as a PRISON RELEASE REOFFENDER and faced mandatory life imprisonment if convicted. He knew what was at stake. He voluntarily surrendered after police identified him as the registered owner of the BMW SUV and broadcast his image on crime stoppers. He also freely admitted to being in the vicinity on the date and time. However, he denied involvement in the robbery. He told police that he had owned a vehicle matching the one the police were looking for but claimed to have sold and shipped it to the new owner in the Bahamas.
• The Charges: HOME INVASION, ROBBERY WITH A FIREARM, and being a FELON IN ACTUAL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM.
• The Evidence: Video surveillance from the motel across the street captured a purple BMW SUV similar to the one registered to my client fleeing the scene after the robbery. The man identified him as the perpetrator in a photo lineup, and later during the trial, the man again identified my client as the perpetrator.
• My Counsel & Defense: I calmed him, schooling him on how to present himself in court and behave when accused by the husband of the crime. I argued before a jury that he was little more than an easy target to blame for the crime. He had the unfortunate luck of visiting a guest at the motel across the street from the incident when the home invasion occurred and had no involvement in the home invasion.
• The VERDICT: Despite the evidence and the State’s best attempts otherwise, I managed to sway the jury’s opinion in our favor, and my client was acquitted of the Home Invasion charges. After that, the second count of being a FELON IN ACTUAL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM was dismissed. – NOT GUILTY

Related laws:
Home Invasion Robbery with A Firearm
Felon In Possession of A Firearm

Charged? Call West Palm Beach Robbery Attorney Josh LeRoy Because Experience Wins. Can You Afford to Lose?

If you, or someone you know, find yourself in need of a Robbery Attorney in West Palm Beach (Palm Beach County from Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Lake Worth, and up to Jupiter) or any of the surrounding areas use the form below to drop me a note.

Tell me about yourself, what’s happened, and a good time to contact you.

-Joshua LeRoy, Esq.

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