Robbery

Las Vegas Robbery Attorney Defines the Charge and Punishment for Armed Robbery (NRS 200.380)

What is robbery? What is armed robbery?

Robbery is often confused with theft crimes like burglary. Unlike burglary, which is considered a crime against property, robbery is a “crime against the person.” Robbery is an illegal taking of property from another person using force or threat of force. A “mugging” on the street is a classic example of robbery. The threat of force can be used to either get the property or to allow for the escape of the perpetrator.

Threats do not have to be against the person from whom the property is taken. Instead, threats to a family member or a bystander are enough if they could be reasonably expected to make the victim scared enough to hand over the property to the person committing the robbery.

Robbery with a deadly weapon, more commonly known as armed robbery, is a very serious crime in Nevada with long prison times. Armed robbery does not require serious injury or even that the weapon be used during the robbery. It must simply be present and part of the threat of force that helps achieve the robbery.

If you have been arrested for either robbery or armed robbery, law enforcement and the prosecutor will work hard to convict you. You need an experienced and aggressive criminal defense lawyer on your side to ensure your case is handled fairly.

Sentences for Robbery in Nevada

A robbery is a Category B felony. A Nevada Category B felony requires 2 to 15 years of prison time.

In addition to prison time for robbery, an armed robbery conviction carries 1 to 15 additional years in prison time on top of the usual 2 to 15 years. Armed robbery includes this sentence enhancement to deter the use of weapons during the commission of crimes in Las Vegas. The only limitation on the judge’s ability to enhance the sentence due to the use of a weapon is that the additional sentence cannot exceed the original sentence. That is, if you are sentenced to 5 years for robbery, the maximum sentence enhancement you can receive is 5 years (but you may receive less than 5 additional years if the judge wants it that way).

The court will consider many factors in determining how much extra prison time will be required, such as:

• The criminal history of the defendant;
• Mitigating factors; and
• The impact of a crime on the victim.

Mitigating factors are circumstances in your case which may convince the judge that a reduced sentence is necessary because the criminal defendant is not as blameworthy as another person who committed the same crime under different circumstances. A common example is the runaway teenager who commits a robbery to please an older person who is acting as a parental figure in the teen’s life. Mitigating factors are not defenses. Defenses are excuses to the crime, while mitigating factors simply show that a person should still be sentenced, just to a lesser degree than usual. For example, drug use and mental illness may be factors the judge will consider in sentencing a person to a weapons enhancement, but these factors are not excuses to committing the crime in the first place. The judge may order drug rehabilitation or mental health treatment.

Probation is not available for armed robbery.

Nevada Robbery Defenses

There are defenses to robbery that an experienced and qualified Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer at LV Criminal Defense can bring to the attention of the court and the prosecutor.

The victim of a robbery must feel afraid or threatened because these are essential elements of the crime. If the victim did not feel fear when their property was taken (like pick-pocketing), or the prosecutor does not have evidence that the victim felt this way, it is not a robbery. It may still be a crime, but one with a lesser penalty.

If nothing was taken from the victim, but he or she did feel fear, then it could be an assault. Assault carries a lower penalty for a first-time offense than robbery or armed robbery in Nevada.

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