Arrested for Robbery in the Inland Empire?

You are booked and held until you post bail or see a judge. If you stay in custody, you must be brought to court for arraignment, usually within 48 hours, not counting Sundays and holidays. At arraignment, the judge reads the charges, takes your plea and rules on bail or release. Robbery is a violent felony, so the court looks closely at release conditions, and the judge may order you to stay away from the people involved. The prosecutor can also file charges later if you were released. The sooner we’re involved, the sooner we can start working on your case.

Robbery (PC 211) is taking property from someone, or from their immediate presence, against their will, by force or fear. Theft is taking property without force or fear. Burglary is entering a building or locked car intending to steal or commit a felony, whether or not anyone is there. Force or a threat is what turns a theft into a robbery, and it is often the main issue in the case.

First degree robbery (PC 212.5) is robbery inside an inhabited home, robbery of a bus, taxi or other for-hire driver or a passenger, and robbery of someone at or just after using an ATM. All other robbery, including most robberies of stores, businesses and people on the street, is second degree. Both degrees are felonies.

Robbery is a state prison offense. Second degree robbery carries two, three or five years. First degree robbery carries three, four or six years, or three, six or nine years if done with two or more others inside a home (PC 213). Probation is possible in some cases, but the law limits it when a weapon was involved and does not allow it if you personally used a gun (PC 1203(e), 1203.06). The outcome depends on the facts, any injuries, your record and how the case is handled from the start.

Yes. Every robbery, first or second degree, is both a serious felony and a violent felony under California’s Three Strikes law (PC 1192.7(c)(19), 667.5(c)(9)), so a conviction counts as a strike. Because it is a violent felony, you serve at least 85% of a prison sentence. Attempted robbery is also a strike.

Yes. If you take something from a store and then use force or a threat against a security guard or employee to get away with it, prosecutors can charge robbery, even though it started as shoplifting. This is often called an Estes robbery, after the court case that allowed it. Whether force was used to keep the property, or only to get away after dropping it, can make the difference between robbery and a lesser charge.

The sentence can increase sharply. Personally using a knife or other deadly weapon adds one year (PC 12022(b)). Personally using a gun, even an unloaded one, adds 10 years; firing it adds 20 years; and causing serious injury or death by firing it adds 25 years to life (PC 12022.53). Judges can dismiss these additions in some cases, so how the case is presented at sentencing matters.

No. Politely decline to answer questions and ask for a lawyer. Statements you make to police are often the strongest evidence in the case, even when you think they help you. Don’t contact the alleged victim or witnesses, and don’t discuss the case by text, email, social media or jail phone calls. All of it can be recorded and used.

It depends on the evidence. Common defenses include:

• Mistaken identity, such as a doubtful eyewitness identification or unclear video
• No force or fear was used, which makes it a theft at most
• You believed in good faith that the property was yours, such as taking back your own phone
• False or exaggerated accusations, or a story that changed over time
• Evidence found in an illegal search, or an unfair lineup or photo identification
• Insufficient evidence to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt

We review the police report, surveillance and body camera video, 911 calls, phone records and location data, and witness statements to find the weaknesses in the case.

Sometimes. Depending on the evidence, charges may be dismissed, never filed, or reduced to a charge that is not a strike, such as grand theft or petty theft. Robbery itself is always a felony and can’t be reduced to a misdemeanor. If you are granted probation and complete it, you may be able to have the conviction dismissed under PC 1203.4, but an expungement does not erase a strike: the conviction can still be used in a later case. For non-citizens, a robbery conviction can carry serious immigration consequences, so talk to us before entering any plea.