Lubbock Robbery Defense Lawyer

Top-Notch Criminal Defense Experienced in Robbery Charges

If you have been arrested for robbery in Lubbock or surrounding counties, you are facing serious penalties that can affect the rest of your life. However, experienced and aggressive Lubbock robbery defense lawyer Cynthia Mendoza can work with you, using her skill and legal knowledge to help you obtain the best possible outcome.

Remember that it is vital to speak openly and honestly with your attorney from the beginning so that she can build the best possible defense in anticipation of the prosecution’s strategies.

What is Robbery?

The Texas statutes define robbery as intentional or recklessly causing harm in the course of committing a theft. You may also be charged with theft, if, in the process of committing a theft, you threatened bodily harm or death. That is, a person does not need to put someone in actual danger, he or she just needs to put another person in fear of imminent injury. For example, if while committing burglary, a thief threatens the home’s residents with a screwdriver, but they believe it is a knife and fear for their lives, the burglary becomes a robbery.

Aggravated (Armed) Robbery

The Texas statutes differentiate aggravated robbery as when a person committing robbery causes serious bodily harm or uses or exhibits a deadly weapon to another person. In addition, robbery can be raised to the charge of aggravated robbery if the victim is disabled or over 65 years old. To be clear, the victim does not have to be the person being robbed for it to count as an aggravated robbery—as long as the injury occurs during the act of the theft. For example, if the offender commits the act of theft in a grocery store, and on the way out brandishes a handgun at a 70-year-old customer, this may still constitute an act of aggravated robbery.

What are the Penalties for Robbery?

While an act of theft such as burglary is typically a misdemeanor or a state-jail felony, robbery calls for more serious charges because it not only is a crime against a person’s property but injures or threatens to harm an actual person. The Texas statutes indicate that robbery is to be charged as a second-degree felony. If you have been charged with a robbery, you could be facing 2 to 20 years in prison and an up to $10,000 fine.

Penalty for Aggravated Robbery in Texas

If you have been charged with aggravated robbery in Texas, a first-degree felony, the penalty ranges between 5 to 99 years of imprisonment and an up to $10,000 fine.

The charges for robbery and aggravated robbery come with life-changing consequences. If you or a loved one have been arrested and accused of robbery, it is vital that you contact experienced Lubbock Robbery Defense Attorney Cynthia Mendoza to advocate on your behalf.