As defined by Chantilly law, armed robbery is robbery with the added possession of firearms in the commission of the felony charged. The distinction is that there are two felony charges that someone could be charged with, which are robbery and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
The possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony charge in Virginia has a mandatory minimum period. If someone is convicted of that and it is proven that the person has a firearm in the commission of a felony, they could potentially face additional mandatory minimum time in addition to whatever happens with the robbery case.
A Chantilly armed robbery lawyer has the legal experience that could benefit the overall outcome of your case. Therefore, it could be critical to discuss possible defense strategies with a well-versed robbery attorney.
Robbery is considered a violent felony. The elements of an armed robbery criminal charge in Chantilly depend on how they charge it. The elements of robbery are taking property from somebody or in their presence with the intent to permanently deprive and with force, threat, violence, or intimidation.
If there is the added element of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, they have to prove that the person in question used, intended to use, or displayed in a threatening manner a firearm while committing or attempting to commit a violent felony.
Due to the severity of armed robbery – possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony plus robbery – robbery has a mandatory minimum of five years. Possession of firearms in the commission of a felony has a three-year mandatory minimum unless it is the person’s second or subsequent offense, then the penalty could be a mandatory minimum of five years. As a Chantilly armed robbery lawyer knows, a person could face face potentially eight years of automatic prison time. That prison time cannot be suspended, so, even if it is the person’s first offense, they could go to jail for eight years just at a minimum and potentially up to life in prison.
How significant the armed element has to be to differentiate a charge between robbery and armed robbery depends on the situation. There does not have to be a weapon for the purposes of robbery. Separate from robbery there is the use, display, or possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Robbery offenses require force, threat, or intimidation. For use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, it has to be proven that the person attempted to use, used, or displayed a firearm in a threatening manner. It does require proof that the person possessed the firearm. There are two ways that the prosecution may go about this, but it is a separate charge from the robbery charge.
A Chantilly armed robbery lawyer might leverage their experience when trying to gain an advantage over the prosecution by showing the prosecution what the weaknesses are. If there are technical errors of law or a violation to the defendant’s rights, a criminal lawyer may use that to their advantage by filing motions and making the prosecutor’s job more difficult. The defense attorney’s job is not only to get their client a not guilty verdict, but also to prevent the prosecutor from proving their case.
A lot of the times a defense attorney may file a motion, look at all the evidence, and take things step by step to get it to a point where there is reasonable doubt in the case. A criminal lawyer may leverage that with prosecutors, especially new prosecutors, by showing them the cracks in the case, letting them know the problems that they are going to have, or by filing motions and winning on these technical motions. Maybe a prosecutor has failed to do something.