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While Newport Beach is a low-crime community, the luxury items and expensive products people carry with them- like an iPhone or a designer handbag- are tempting to potential robbers, and, while rare, crime can occur even in safe areas. There were 42 incidents of robbery in 2010 in Newport Beach, for example, and the numbers for 2012 are projected to be about the same. The Newport Beach robbery attorney at the Johnson Criminal Law Group knows that crimes, and accusations of crimes, can occur anywhere, so it is best to be informed about the law and your options.
Robbery is a theft crime, but the key to robbery, as opposed to other theft crimes, is that it is stealing something from another person’s person. This is what makes it a more serious crime, because there is generally more fear and danger involved in a crime against another’s person.
Robbery is dealt with in California Penal Code section 211, which outlines five requirements to be proved for this crime. First, “felonious taking,” which means taking someone else’s property away with the intention of keeping it from the owner. Second, the taken property is in the possession of another person. Third, as mentioned above, the taking must be from the person or his or her immediate presence. Fourth, the taking must be against the owner’s will. And fifth, it must be taken through force or fear. When these are met, unlike with petty or grand theft, the value of the taken item does not matter.
An example of a situation where someone would rightfully be charged with the crime of robbery could include a man walking up to a woman while she is walking home at night to press a firearm against her back while threatening that he will shoot if she does not hand over her wallet and its contents. Because the man had the full intentions to steal the woman’s money from her wallet while she was there by using a weapon and threatened her with her life to get her to comply, he is guilty of robbery. In fact, robbery involving a weapon, or armed robbery, could potentially escalate the charges and be considered more severe than robbery without a weapon, or simple robbery
There are a few defenses that can be used when charged with robbery. Many will proclaim and insist that they are innocent and did not commit the crime or crimes in question. They may support their claim with evidence that they were at a different place at a different time during the time of the alleged robbery. Another defensive strategy some people use is that they did not meet all of the required elements of a robbery that need to be proven in order for something to be considered a robbery in the first place. An example of this would be someone saying that they had the consent of the owner to take the “stolen” property or that they were allowed on the premises.
Robbery is a felony offense and can have serious penalties, including time behind bars. The Newport Beach robbery attorney at the Johnson Criminal Law Group can provide an experienced California criminal defense lawyer who knows how to obtain the best outcome for clients defending a robbery claim. Call the Law Office for an initial consultation today at (949) 622-5522.