If you are unfamiliar, California Penal Code 211 PC robbery has been declared a strike offense under the California Three Strikes Law, as enacted by the California legislature.  It is characterized as a violent felony because usually, somebody's doing something violent during the robbery, whether using force or fear to take somebody's property away. PC 211 describes the crime of robbery, which is considered a type of theft crime offense.

Most times, a robbery occurs when property is taken away from the person's immediate presence. Still, there are examples of property being taken without force or fear, but the robber uses force or fear during the escape.  That's called an Estes robbery. It's the same as a regular robbery.  It comes with the same penalties and consequences.

For instance, a person could be looking at serving 85% of their sentence in either county jail or prison.  In the case of robberies, the prosecutors in Los Angeles County have a strict policy. Any conviction for a robbery results in a prison sentence, usually for a minimum of two years. This underscores the serious and life-altering consequences of a robbery charge.

However, there are exceptions to this rule.  These exceptions often revolve around what can be termed as unique circumstances. These unique circumstances can be anything that sets the robbery apart from the usual cases. Our Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys will delve into this topic in more detail below, offering hope for those facing robbery charges.

Types of Robbery Crimes

There are several ways a person can be charged with robbery.  There are strong-arm robberies where someone runs up and snatches somebody's purse or jewelry.

I had one case where the client met an individual at a Starbucks to buy an expensive Rolex watch, snatched the watch away from the person, and ran out of the Starbucks. That was characterized as a robbery.

It's a high-dollar item, but no force or fear was used. The defendant was young, so we could characterize that as a unique situation versus the usual strong-arm robbery where someone is grabbing something from somebody or threatening to kill somebody, for example.  That's the fear element of taking their property away.

Once you use a weapon during a robbery — for example, a gun or deadly weapon — that puts you in deadly weapon — that puts you in a whole new category; now you're looking at ten years for the gun use plus another two years minimum for the robbery.

So, prosecutors often start with a 12-year prison offer at 85%.  If they're offering you anything less than that, they think they're giving you a gift.  That gives you a sense of what happens in these robbery cases.

Then you get the conviction, and now you've got a robbery on your record that you can't get off.  It's challenging to gain employment, and if you were to pick up any new felonies, the robbery would put you in a position where your sentence could be doubled from what it usually would be under the Three Strikes Law.

Avoiding a Robbery Conviction in California

Often, as a criminal defense attorney in robbery cases, I'm trying to avoid a conviction for robbery.  Sometimes, they have the evidence of my client.  They committed the robbery.  There are witnesses.  They admitted it.

There is a whole host of other evidence that can be used against them, so I have to figure out how to avoid this robbery conviction.  I must try to categorize the person outside the usual scope of a robbery, beyond the realm of violence and the threat of fear. One crime that I've used successfully in place of robbery when my client is guilty of the crime and will have to take a conviction is grand theft person, Penal Code Section 487c PC. That is not a strike.

It can even be later reduced to a misdemeanor if the deal is set up correctly.  So, that's one crime that can be useful in a robbery case.  There are other crimes, but that one usually tends to make the most sense because if somebody is being charged with robbery, that person has taken property away from a person by force or fear. It sits well within that Penal Code § 487c – Framework.

Therefore, committing another crime besides robbery is one of the things we want to avoid.  Keeping the person out of prison is another goal we want to achieve. There are numerous considerations and various aspects of a robbery case, depending on the person's criminal record.  Some people are young and have no records; others have records.

So, that's going to dictate a different view by a judge and a prosecutor, so the more of a record you have, the more likely you are not to be able to avoid the robbery conviction, and the more likely you are to go to prison.

Your best chance of mounting a successful defense, whether it's through a strong defense, securing a lesser charge, or avoiding prison and a strike, is to have a criminal defense attorney who is well-versed in handling robbery cases in Los Angeles. This emphasis on the potential for a successful defense should provide reassurance and hope to those facing robbery charges.