Building a Prince William County Robbery Defense

Robbery is combination offense of a theft and assault that is tried as one offense. Because it involves violent behavior, it is considered a serious offense in Prince William County. Given everything that is at stake, being charged with robbery in Virginia has a good chance of being the most damaging and stressful event in a person’s entire life.

If you were charged with robbery, it could be imperative to hire a local skilled criminal defense attorney to assist with the case. With the help of a dedicated lawyer, building a Prince William County robbery defense could be a way to defeat your charges.

First Steps in Building a Defense

At the outset, the criminal lawyer will want to get as much evidence as possible about the encounter between the accused and the alleged victim. This includes identifying all the potential sources of evidence related to that encounter. A lawyer will also want to get an accurate idea of the accused’s criminal history, if any, to begin calculating the worst case scenario if the accused is convicted.

When defending a robbery charge, an experienced defense attorney will gather:

• All photographs
• Camera footage
• Medical records
• Tangible items involved in the robbery
• Records of lighting and weather conditions
• Police reports
• Relevant social media evidence, if any exist
• Mental health records, if applicable

Plea Deal Considerations

The decision of whether or not to take a plea deal is an intensely personal and complicated decision for a person to make in consultation with their attorney. The most intuitive reason the lawyer would encourage a person to take a plea deal is if the person already admitted the crime to the police, or the evidence of the crime is simply overwhelming.

If neither of these scenarios is involved, a plea deal might also be encouraged if the lawyer feels strongly that a judge or jury simply will not believe the accused’s conflicting account of the alleged robbery over the victim’s account. This is particularly advisable when the estimated sentence for a conviction is extremely high based on the circumstances of how the robbery was committed and/or the accused’s prior criminal history.

Additionally, plea deals are often encouraged when the evidence is weak enough that the lawyer feels that a trial would result in a conviction of a lesser offense, such as misdemeanor theft, but the prosecution has already offered a plea deal to a misdemeanor offense without the expense, risk, and inconvenience of going through a trial to get the same result.

Information to Have Available When Contacting an Attorney

The information a defense attorney will immediately want to know from someone accused of robbery is the information contained on the Charging Document given to the accused at the time of the arrest. Usually, this is a felony warrant, but sometimes it will be an indictment.

Other than a summary recollection from the accused about the factual basis of the charge, a defense attorney will also want to know any notable criminal history the person has and some basic background information that would be necessary for getting a bond, such as where the person lives and where they will go when released from jail before trial.

Reach Out to an Attorney for Help Building a Robbery Defense

If you are facing robbery charges, you should reach out to an attorney for assistance. Building a Prince William County robbery defense could be the best way to fight against your charges. Do not risk appearing in court alone: reach out to a qualified defense attorney today.