Lawyer for Robbery and Aggravated Robbery in Greeley
Have you been charged with Robbery or Aggravated Robbery? Read more about these charges and how an experienced lawyer can help defend you and your future.
What is the Definition of Robbery?
Colorado law defines C.R.S. 18-4-301 – Robbery – as:
The basic elements of Robbery in Weld, Morgan, and Logan County are:
- Taking something of value; and
- From a person or in the presence of a person; and
- Using force, threats, or intimidation.
|
Element |
Example |
| Force |
A man physically takes a purse from a woman as she is walking on the sidewalk in downtown Fort Collins. |
| Threat |
A woman tells another woman to give her all the cash in her wallet or she will hurt her child. |
| Intimidation |
A large man approaches an elderly couple and demands they hand over their valuables and jewelry. The man’s size intimidates the frail couple because they know they could not defend themselves in a physical altercation. |
What is the Definition of Aggravated Robbery?
C.R.S. 18-4-302 – Aggravated Robbery – is defined by Colorado law as:
(a) He is armed with a deadly weapon with intent, if resisted, to kill, maim, or wound the person robbed or any other person; or
(b) He knowingly wounds or strikes the person robbed or any other person with a deadly weapon or by the use of force, threats, or intimidation with a deadly weapon knowingly puts the person robbed or any other person in reasonable fear of death or bodily injury; or
(c) He has present a confederate, aiding or abetting the perpetration of the robbery, armed with a deadly weapon, with the intent, either on the part of the defendant or confederate, if resistance is offered, to kill, maim, or wound the person robbed or any other person, or by the use of force, threats, or intimidation puts the person robbed or any other person in reasonable fear of death or bodily injury; or
(d) He possesses any article used or fashioned in a manner to lead any person who is present reasonably to believe it to be a deadly weapon or represents verbally or otherwise that he is then and there so armed.
In Greeley, Evans, and Erie, Aggravated Robbery is essentially a simple Robbery with the added element of a threatened injury or a weapon. A deadly weapon’s involvement, like a gun, will warrant the Aggravated Robbery charge. A deadly weapon is:
- A firearm, whether loaded or unloaded; or
- A knife, bludgeon, or any other weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, whether animate or inanimate, that, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury.
Usually, when people think of a Robbery, they picture someone walking into a store holding out a gun and demanding all the money from the cash register. This would certainly be charged as Aggravated Robbery, but many times, the weapon is not that obvious. If a person used their hand shaped like a gun under their coat to get the money, or even just told the clerk they had a knife, Aggravated Robbery would be charged. Even if no actual weapon is present during the commission of the Robbery, if the people present believe there was a weapon, the Robbery charged is aggravated.
What is the Sentence for Robbery or Aggravated Robbery?
Robbery and Aggravated Robbery are both felony charges in Colorado.
|
Crime |
Felony Level |
Sentence |
| Robbery | Class 4 felony |
*2 to 6 years in DOC *$2,000 to $500,000 in fines |
| Aggravated Robbery | Class 3 felony |
Extraordinary Risk Crime: *4 to 16 years in DOC *$3,000 - $750,000 in fines |
Many times, the Robbery cases we see are instances of Theft gone wrong. People fall on hard times and are desperate to get back on their feet. Sometimes, in panic people claim they have a weapon, or hurt someone because they get in over their head. In Domestic Violence Robbery cases, we have seen a boyfriend get accused of this crime when he takes property during a break-up and the girlfriend calls the police out of revenge or control.