If you find yourself facing charges of armed robbery, contact an experienced robbery lawyer today in order to start building the strongest Virginia armed robbery defense possible. There are a lot of different elements to consider when it comes to building a proper defense. A well-established lawyer with strong local ties will be well equipped to help you through the process.
A criminal lawyer will begin preparing a Virginia armed robbery defense by looking at all the evidence that the prosecution is bringing against the defendant.
They will do their own independent investigation. They will look for witnesses. They will look for individuals who maybe did not even know that they saw something and do not know that they are witnesses yet. They are going to look for things like video surveillance, alibi evidence, and other evidence that would show that somebody other than the accused is culpable.
Then they are also going to look for loopholes in the evidence the prosecutor does have. For example, if an eyewitness identified the individual, the defense attorney might cross-examine eyewitnesses and look into flaws of their testimony. These flaws could include things such as an obstructed line of vision, or an inability to correctly identify what the person was wearing. Maybe the lineup was flawed, or perhaps there were problems in police practices, including but not limited to things like suppression of evidence and other situations.
When defending a person charged with armed robbery, the evidence that a criminal lawyer will compile could include things such as alibi evidence. It could include things like eyewitness testimony. It could include things like DNA evidence. It could include things like video surveillance, statements from other individuals, or perhaps the identification of a mistake in certain eyewitness identifications. All these things are things that they could be looking for.
If somebody is charged with armed robbery and the evidence looks strong against them, they are going to be facing at least five years if not more depending on the type of weapon that they are accused of having wielded. Certainly, that is a situation where if they got some type of offer to reduce it to a misdemeanor charge, which is extremely unlikely, that is something that a defense attorney would definitely encourage their client to take if the evidence is strong against said client.
Additionally, in situations where somebody has it reduced to a charge that does not have a mandatory minimum, such as grand larceny, that could be a potentially better outcome for somebody than a mandatory minimum five years in prison if they lose at trial.
There are different Virginia armed robbery defense strategies and factors to consider before taking a plea offer. That is something an attorney will help their client with to figure out exactly what the best strategy is for them and whether or not a plea offer is appropriate in the particular case.
A defense attorney, depending on the facts of the case, is going to look at a whole array of defense strategies when building a strong Virginia armed robbery defense. Ultimately, robbery is still a charge that carries a five-year mandatory minimum to up to life in prison. Whether or not it is armed or not, robbery can still carry up to life in prison. Therefore, working with a qualified and experienced professional makes the most sense, as the objective is to minimize the potential negative outcomes, and mitigate the damages.