Virginia Beach Robbery Charges

Robbery is when an individual takes an item with the use of force that belongs to somebody else. Typically, there is a victim who takes out a complaint with the commonwealth or with a police officer. The severity of Virginia Beach robbery charges should not be faced without the help of an experienced robbery lawyer.

Attempt vs. Conspiracy

If an individual is charged with attempt, this means that they were unable to complete the robberies. They may have threatened to take the money or they tried but somebody intervened and they were not able to take it. If they are charged with conspiracy, that means they worked with another person to commit a robbery. This person was possibly not the individual who did the actual robbery but was still involved in the planning and the execution.

The logical conclusion from their actions is that they were going to commit a robbery. With a conspiracy charge, they have to show that an individual was involved and had knowledge of what was going on and played a  part in the plan to commit a robbery.

These are both felonies, however, there are different things that have to be proven. With an attempt charge, the Commonwealth has to show that the individual intended to commit a robbery. Additionally, if there was more than one person working to commit a robbery or planning a robbery, an individual can be charged with conspiracy and they can also be charged with the act of robbery itself.

Prosecution

Prosecutors will typically charge the individual with everything that they can charge in an effort to scare them into taking a plea agreement. However, the more felony charges a person has over their head, the more trouble they are looking at and the more likely they will be to want to make a deal and make it all go away.

Indictments and Investigations

With some cases, the evidence will be presented before the grand jury, who are called to evaluate probable cause. The grand jury will hear a summary of the evidence, usually from a police officer, or sometimes from the victim depending on the case and the jurisdiction. The grand jury will then decide if there is probable cause or not. If there is no probable cause, the case goes away and they will issue an indictment, which will then be served on the defendant.

If the victim is not clear about the identity of the defendant and the police have to do an investigation, then, instead of there being an arrest first, they might go through the indictment process. An individual can also be indicted before arrest if they choose to go through circuit court for procedural reasons instead of going through district court

Some circumstances that can impact whether or not someone is indicted first or just arrested include if an individual has other charges pending or if they are already being held on something else or if there are multiple investigations.

Accessibility of Criminal Records

Charges in Virginia are a matter of public record. If an individual is able to access the court system, they can go through jurisdictions and put in a person’s name and find out if a person has ever been charged.

For example, in Virginia Beach, an individual can put in somebody’s name and check to see if there are any charges for that person. Also, these are the types of cases that tend to get reported on the news so they may very well be a news story about a robbery case.

Contact a Virgina Beach Robbery Lawyer

If charged with robbery they should contact a Virginia Beach robbery lawyer immediately. If the individual knows roughly when the alleged robbery took place, they should begin identifying potential witnesses who can collaborate where the individual was and possibly supply a potential alibi or if the individual was in fact at the scene, gather witnesses who can supply their version of what transpired and present that information to the lawyer.

The first thing an individual will want to do is hire an attorney as quickly as possible and stop all contact with the victim. An individual could easily make things worse if they try to talk to the person making the complaint. The individual should not attempt to talk their way out of the situation, or claiming their arrest was a misunderstanding. If the police want to talk to the individual, they should politely but firmly decline. The are not trying to help the individual and they are not the individual’s friends. Speak with a lawyer before doing anything else.