One of the main categories of felony crimes most common in occurrence in this country is armed robbery. Since felonies are considered more serious offenses by the legal system, as well as by the criminal records industry, it is necessary to take a closer look at the definition of armed robbery as an example of a prevalent felony crime. Beyond the simple logistics of the subject of armed robbery charges, we will also analyze the different kinds of robbery as they relate to weapon possession, and robbery criminal sentencing.
To aptly define armed robbery charges, it is best to begin with a working definition of robbery. Robbery is to take “money or other property” from an individual by force, with the intent to “permanently or temporarily deprive the person” of the aforementioned property. Armed robbery is the taking of said property, but with the use of a firearm or other weapon. Just by including a weapon in a particular robbery crime, a robbery can be viewed with a lot more seriousness. The first-without the use of a firearm is most often considered a misdemeanor, while the second-with the use of a firearm or deadly weapon-is most often considered a felony. Depending on what kind of robbery is committed as well as if a deadly weapon is used, greatly affects how the crime is viewed, and consequently, punished. This, in turn, directly influences how a criminal record is characterized as reporting certain offenses.
There are a variety of different kinds of robbery offenses that can take place-with each robbery being susceptible to much more serious punishment and legal proceedings, if bolstered by the presence of a deadly weapon- with each affecting the criminal’s criminal history one way or another. One type of robbery charge is robbery by sudden snatching, which fits the above robbery description but altered to include the knowledge of the victim of the robbery. Without the use of a weapon, this type of robbery is given a felony of the third degree charge; but with the use of a firearm or other weapon, the criminal will incur felony a robbery charge of the second degree. Another type of robbery in this category is carjacking, which is the taking of a person’s motor vehicle with the use of force. For this kind of robbery, the charges are a felony in the first degree-with or without the use of a weapon. Lastly, is home invasion robbery charges, which are, when a criminal “enters a dwelling with the intent to commit a robbery, and does so”. Again, in the case of robbery for home invasion, the criminal will necessarily be brought up on a first degree felony robbery charge with or without the use of a weapon.
It is very important when considering a criminal records search, that you are able to distinguish one robbery charge from another, as certain robbery offenses have particular consequences, and based on punishment and the nature of the robbery crime, the perspective of the individual seeking the criminal records information could be greatly influenced.