California Robbery
What is robbery in California?
- Robbery is a very specifically defined crime in California.
- Under California Penal Code Sections 211-215, robbery defined as the “felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from his person or immediate presence, and against his will, accomplished by means of force or fear.”
- “Fear” may be either “the fear of an unlawful injury to the person or property of the person robbed, or of any relative of his or member of his family” or “the fear of an immediate and unlawful injury to the person or property of anyone in the company of the person robbed at the time of the robbery.”
- Put simply, robbery is taking the personal property of someone by using fear, either the fear that that person will themselves be injured if they do not give up their property, or fear that someone they love or is with them at the time may be injured if they do not give up their personal property.
- Robbery in the California Penal Code
- A robbery of a person who is a driver of a taxicab, streetcar, bus, or cable car, or any passenger of such a vehicle or any robbery which is perpetrated in an inhabited dwelling, or a robbery that takes place while the victims has used or is using an ATM machine is a robbery of the first degree.
- Any other kind of robbery is a robbery of the second degree.
- Robbery in the first degree is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three to nine years.
- Robbery in the second degree is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two to five years.
- Robbery is a serious criminal conviction and can result in lengthy imprisonment and can count as a “strike” in three-strike sentencing.
- Don’t risk it! If you, a family member, or friend is facing a robbery charge, it is best to contact an experienced criminal defense attorney.
- For the best robbery defense in Los Angeles, contact The Law Offices of Erik S. Lewin.
