Are you being charged with burglary, theft or robbery?
Robbery and theft charges are a serious matter in Pennsylvania and can result in long prison sentences, and high fines, not to mention will haunt you for the rest of your life, depending on circumstances.
If you or a loved one are charged with robbery in the Pennsylvania area, I can help you, just contact D’Intino Law Firm and start working on your defense today.
There are different levels of a robbery that hold different penalties, but all of them have one thing in common: any robbery conviction is a felony that includes significant jail time.
Difference between Robbery vs. Theft
- Theft – is a term that can cover a wide variety of criminal offenses – such as shoplifting and stealing an automobile are both forms of theft. Some common theft examples:
- Taking someone’s money or personal property without permission.
- Carrying the property away.
- Intending to keep the property permanently.
- Robbery – like theft, robbery involves taking money or property without permission, however, the crime of robbery involves force or the threat of force.In the instance of robbery, the victim must be present. Unlike theft, robbery entails taking property directly from a person. For instance, two men armed with guns enter a grocery store, demand money from the cashier, and flees with the cash. This scenario would be a robbery because they had the intent to steal, used the threat of force, and took the money directly from a person.
Pennsylvania Robbery Laws
- According to the Pennsylvania State Law, a person is guilty of robbery:
- Inflicts serious bodily injury to someone;
- Threatens another with or intentionally puts someone in fear of immediate serious bodily injury;
- Causes or makes threats to cause bodily injury at a lesser degree than serious;
- Actually committing or threatening to commit a first-or second-degree felony, such as sexual assault, kidnapping, or other violent crimes; or,
- Taking someone’s property by any amount of force, even minimal force.
Types of Robbery
Depending on the circumstances and the value of the property stolen, penalties for theft will vary widely. Here are three degrees of charges for a robbery offense:
- First Degree Robbery – when one inflicts serious bodily harm or the threat of serious bodily harm during a theft. In addition, if one commits, or attempts to commit, an additional first or second-degree felony during the commission of a theft, the theft charge can be increased to a first-degree robbery.
- Second Degree Robbery – when a bodily injury, or threat of a bodily injury, occurs during the commission of a theft. Please note the bodily injury does not have to be serious.
- Third Degree Robbery – this is the lowest level of robbery offense. If one commits a third degree, one may be charged with third-degree robbery if any level of force is used in the commission of a theft. No actual injury need occur.
Armed Robbery
Robbery offenses often occur with the use of a weapon – also known as armed robbery. Though the weapon does not have to be used, the mere threat of use is enough to satisfy a robbery charge and can result in additional charges such as assault or weapons charges.
If you are in need of a professional and knowledgeable attorney, John D’Intino Jr. can help you with your robbery case in Pennsylvania. Call today at 267-491-9111 to set up a complimentary consultation and learn more about how I can help.
