Three Ventura men, including a juvenile, were recently arrested and charged with a robbery attempt, the Ventura County Star reports.
A robbery charge in Ventura is serious and can involve life-altering penalties if not properly defended in court. That's why trusting in an experienced Ventura Criminal Defense Lawyer is critical in order to challenge the facts the state intends to introduce at trial.
According to California Penal Code Section 211, robbery is defined as: "the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from his person or immediate presence, and against his will, accomplished by means of force or fear."
The "fear" can be of unlawful injury to the person or to that of a relative or another person in the company of the person being robbed.
Regardless of the circumstances, and including an attempted robbery, the charge is punishable by time in prison. If someone works with another person and robs a home, the charge is a first-degree felony and is punishable by up to nine years in state prison. In other circumstances, the charge can be punished by up to six years in prison. If charged as second-degree felony, the charge can be punished by a five-year prison sentence.
According to the newspaper account, Ventura County Sheriff's deputies responded to an attempted robbery in the 6500 block of Ventura Boulevard. A man alleges he was riding his bicycle in the area when three males surrounded him and stopped him from leaving. The suspects, 19, 18 and 15, demanded the victim's gang affiliation and searched his backpack.
The victim wasn't injured and nothing was taken, but the older suspects were arrested nearby and are charged with attempted robbery and conspiracy. The 15-year-old faces those same charges as well as on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear on a previous resisting arrest case.
According to statistics from the California Department of Justice, there were 69,391 robberies in 2008. Nearly half of those cases were categorized as highway robbery, which include in streets and parking lots. Commercial robberies accounted for 21 percent, residential robbery 8.4 percent and bank robbery 1.8 percent.
Some people are confused about the difference between robbery and burglary. Burglary, in contrast to robbery, is taking property from a structure, rather than a person. Burglary is typically when someone breaks into a home, car or building and takes things, but doesn't approach a person. Robbery is a more serious crime because it alleges taking from a person, which can sometimes lead to injuries to the victim.
In robbery cases, eye witness accounts, the testimony of alleged co-conspirators, sometimes physical evidence, such as fingerprints, and video surveillance can be important to the state's case. An aggressive Ventura Criminal Defense Attorney will work to suppress evidence and aggressively challenge the state's witnesses through cross examination in order to shred their credibility in front of a jury.
If you need to speak with a criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Kern, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, contact the Law Offices of Daniel E. Kann toll free at 888-744-7730 for a free consultation.
More Blog Entries:
Ventura Teens Charged With Connection to 300-500 Residential Burglaries: June 11, 2011
