Source: https://www.shouselaw.com/robbery.html
Timestamp: 2018-09-21 20:39:38
Document Index: 237101265

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 211', '§ 211', '§ 211', '§ 211', '§ 211', '§ 211', '§ 211', '§ 211', '§ 212', 'art 2']

California "Robbery" Laws
(Penal Code 211 PC)
California robbery law, Penal Code 211 PC, defines the crime of robbery as taking personal property from someone else's person or immediate presence, against the victim's will, through the use of force or fear. PC 211 robbery is always a felony in California law.1
Penal Code 211 PC reads: “Robbery is 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."
Obviously, this definition includes the classic image of “stick ‘em up” robberies committed by defendants wearing masks and wielding guns.
But a robbery in California can also be committed in less obvious ways. These include:
Breaking into a house (committing the California offense of burglary) while the residents are inside, then threatening them with physical harm before stealing some of their personal property;
After being caught in the act of stealing something (committing the California crime of grand theft or petty theft), threatening the owner of the property with physical harm in order to escape.
Fortunately, there are a variety of legal defenses to robbery charges that a California criminal defense attorney can use to help you fight PC 211 charges. These include:
You didn't use force or fear to take the property;
In order to help you better understand the crime of robbery in California, our California criminal defense attorneys will address the following:
You took the property against that person's will;
You “take” someone else's property when you both
Example: Kim is walking down the street carrying a knockoff Louis Vuitton handbag. She is confronted by Michelle, who threatens her with physical harm if she doesn't give up the bag. Kim gives her bag to Michelle.
Michelle is guilty of robbery even though she didn't keep Kim's bag—because by moving it even a small distance, she met the definition of “taking” it under California robbery law.
For purposes of California robbery law, “possession” doesn't have to mean that a person is actually holding or touching the property. It is enough if they have control over it or the right to control it (this is known as “constructive possession”).9
Note that the victim does not have to own the property that is stolen—s/he only needs to have actual or constructive possession of it. For example, a store clerk or other employee of a business is considered to have possession of the store's or business's property.10
Example: Rob and his friend Paco come across Mike stealing stereo equipment from Rob's trunk. The confront Mike, and he runs away, carrying the equipment.
Property is considered to be in a person's “immediate presence” if it is within his/her physical control, such that s/he would have been able to keep possession of it if the robbery had not occurred.13
Example: Bill confronts Victor, the manager of a jewelry store, outside of Victor's home, which is several miles away from the store. Bill pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot Victor unless he tells him the combination to a safe at the jewelry store.
Bill and Andrea did take property from Victor by force or fear. But because they didn't take the property from his immediate presence—instead, they took it from a location far away—they did not actually commit Penal Code 211 robbery. (They are probably guilty of other California offenses, though, like grand theft and California assault.)14
For purposes of California robbery law, you are considered to have taken property against the owner's will if s/he does not consent to you taking it. Consent must be given freely, by someone who understands what they are doing.15
So, for example, if you threaten a person with a gun and they run away—leaving a piece of personal property behind—and you then take their property, you have committed robbery. You took their property without consent, even though they didn't know you were doing so.
Sarah coaxes Max over to her with a treat, then grabs Max and puts a knife to his throat. She tells Corey that she will cut Max if Corey doesn't hand over his wallet.
Even though Sarah didn't actually threaten Corey personally, her threat to Max met the definition of “force or fear”—and so she is guilty of California robbery.
Example: Doug meets Christine in a bar, and she invites him back to her house for coffee. Doug then slips a sedative into Christine's coffee. After she passes out, he searches her house for money and valuables and then leaves with these.
However, the slight, harmless touching that occurs when a pickpocket takes something off of someone's person does NOT count as “force or fear.” So a pickpocket would not be guilty of California robbery (but would be guilty of another theft crime).20
Example: Karina is a methamphetamine addict. Desperate for money to pay back a dealer, she goes to her estranged mother's house and confronts her as she is getting home from work. Karina threatens her mother with a knife until her mother hands over a valuable pearl necklace she always wears.
Karina's intent is to take the pearl necklace to a pawn shop to get cash to pay her dealer. Then she intends to save up enough money to get the necklace back from the pawn shop and return it to her mother.
Finally, Ben runs into another hiker. The hiker is obviously afraid of Ben and refuses to talk to him when Ben begs him for his cell phone so he can call for help. So Ben pulls out his Swiss army knife and threatens to stab the other hiker if he doesn't let him use his phone.
If, while committing a robbery, you cause another person to suffer a “great bodily injury” (defined as a substantial physical injury), then you could be subject to California Penal Code 12022.7, California's great bodily injury enhancement.30
Penal Code 211 robbery is considered a “violent felony” in California law.34 So it is a so-called “strike offense” under California's “three strikes” law.
You didn't use force or fear to take the property
“The use of ‘force or fear' is probably the key element distinguishing California robbery from other California theft crimes. If the prosecutors can't prove this element, then robbery charges can't stick. The defendant may still be convicted of another California theft crime—but the others usually carry lesser penalties and less stigma than robbery.”
If you took or attempted to take someone's property, they may well have been intimidated enough to hand over the property without you actually taking any specific action to cause force or fear.
Then Hal's mother-in-law arrives and starts an argument. Hal realizes that his wife plans to give the $200 to his mother-in-law, whom he can't stand. He asks for the money back, but his wife puts it in her bra.
An experienced defense lawyer knows how to evaluate the prosecution's case to see if it is based mostly on less-reliable circumstantial evidence. S/he can fight the Penal Code 211 charges by point outing the holes in their evidence and reminding the jury that they may not convict unless they are 100% certain they have the right man (or woman).
Penal Code 215 PC, California's carjacking law, makes it a crime to take someone else's car from their immediate presence, by means of force or fear.42
If you take someone else's property unlawfully—without the use of force or fear—you could be convicted of either
Grand theft is charged when the property taken is worth more than nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), is a car or a firearm, or is taken directly off of the victim's person. All other cases are petty theft.46
And grand theft is a wobbler, which means that it may be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, at the prosecutor's discretion. Even when it is charged as a felony, the potential jail sentence is only sixteen (16) months, two (2) or three (3) years—less than the potential sentence for robbery.48
Penal Code 207 PC, California's kidnapping law, punishes the use of force or fear to move another person a substantial distance.49
The difference between PC 211 robbery and PC 518 extortion is that, in a robbery, the victim does not consent to give up his money or property. In extortion, though, the victim does consent, as a result of the defendant's use of force or threats.53
report someone's immigration status.54
Penal Code 211 PC – Definition [of robbery]. (“Robbery is 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.”)
Penal Code 213 PC – Robbery; punishment. (“(1) Robbery of the first degree is punishable as follows: (A) If the defendant, voluntarily acting in concert with two or more other persons, commits the robbery within an inhabited dwelling house, a vessel as defined in Section 21 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, which is inhabited and designed for habitation, an inhabited floating home as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 18075.55 of the Health and Safety Code, a trailer coach as defined in the Vehicle Code, which is inhabited, or the inhabited portion of any other building, by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or nine years. (B) In all cases other than that specified in subparagraph (A), by imprisonment in the state prison for three, four, or six years. (2) Robbery of the second degree is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or five years. (b) Notwithstanding Section 664, attempted robbery in violation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison.”)
Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (“CALCRIM”) 1600 – Robbery (Pen. Code, § 211). (“The defendant is charged [in Count ] with robbery [in violation of Penal Code section 211]. To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must prove that: 1 The defendant took property that was not (his/her) own; 2 The property was in the possession of another person; 3 The property was taken from the other person or (his/her) immediate presence; 4 The property was taken against that person's will; 5 The defendant used force or fear to take the property or to prevent the person from resisting; AND 6 When the defendant used force or fear to take the property, (he/she) intended (to deprive the owner of it permanently/ [or] to remove it from the owner's possession for so extended a period of time that the owner would be deprived of a major portion of the value or enjoyment of the property).”)
CALCRIM 1600 – Robbery (Pen. Code, § 211). (“[A person takes something when he or she gains possession of it and moves it some distance. The distance moved may be short.]”)
CALCRIM 1600 – Robbery (Pen. Code, § 211). (“[A person does not have to actually hold or touch something to possess it. It is enough if the person has (control over it/ [or] the right to control it), either personally or through another person.] [A (store/ [or] business) (employee/ <insert description>) who is on duty has possession of the (store/ [or] business) owner's property.]”)
CALCRIM 1600 – Robbery (Pen. Code, § 211), endnote 7, above.
CALCRIM 1600 – Robbery (Pen. Code, § 211). (“[Property is within a person's immediate presence if it is sufficiently within his or her physical control that he or she could keep possession of it if not prevented by force or fear.]”)
People v. Hayes (1990) 52 Cal.3d 577, 627. (“A taking can be accomplished by force or fear and yet not be from the victim's immediate presence. For example, a person might enter the victim's home and there, by the use of force or fear, compel the victim to reveal the combination of a safe located many miles away in the victim's office. The culprit at the victim's house could then relay the combination to a confederate waiting in or near the office, who could use it to open the safe and take its contents before the victim could reach the office or otherwise interfere with the taking. In such a case, the criminals would have accomplished the taking by force or fear and yet not have taken property from the person or immediate presence of the victim. The perpetrators of the taking would be guilty of several offenses-conspiracy, burglary, assault, and grand theft at the least-but they would not be guilty of robbery as defined in [Penal Code] section 211 because the taking would not be from an area over which the victim, at the time force or fear was employed, could be said to exercise some physical control.”)
CALCRIM 1600 – Robbery (Pen. Code, § 211). (“[An act is done against a person's will if that person does not consent to the act. In order to consent, a person must act freely and voluntarily and know the nature of the act.]”)
Penal Code 212 PC – Fear defined. (“The fear mentioned in Section 211 [California's robbery law] may be either: 1. The fear of an unlawful injury to the person or property of the person robbed, or of any relative of his or member of his family; or, 2. The fear of an immediate and unlawful injury to the person or property of anyone in the company of the person robbed at the time of the robbery.”)
See also CALCRIM 1600 – Robbery (Pen. Code, § 211). (“[Fear, as used here, means fear of (injury to the person himself or herself[,]/ [or] injury to the person's family or property[,]/ [or] immediate injury to someone else present during the incident or to that person's property).]”)
People v. Dreas (1984) 153 Cal.App.3d 623, 627. (“As stated above, appellant was found guilty of three counts of robbery. These convictions were predicated on evidence showing that in each instance appellant used Lorazepam, a tranquilizer, dissolved in hot coffee in order to drug his victims. The drug rendered the victims unconscious, overcoming their resistance to the taking of various items of personal property from their homes or persons. Appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the robbery convictions because the use of drugs does not constitute "means of force or fear" within the meaning of [Penal Code] section 211 [California's robbery law]. We disagree.”)
CALCRIM 1600 – Robbery (Pen. Code, § 211), Related Issues: Force – Amount. (“The force required for robbery must be more than the incidental touching necessary to take the property. (People v. Garcia (1996) 45 Cal.App.4th 1242, 1246 [53 Cal.Rptr.2d 256][noting that the force employed by a pickpocket would be insufficient], disapproved on other grounds in People v. Mosby (2004) 33 Cal.4th 353, 365, fns. 2, 3 [15 Cal.Rptr.3d 262, 92 P.3d 841].)”)
See also CALCRIM 1602 – Robbery: Degrees (Pen. Code, § 212.5). (“To prove that the defendant is guilty of first degree robbery, the People must prove that: [The robbery was committed in an inhabited (dwelling/vessel/floating home/trailer coach/part of a building). A (dwelling/vessel/floating home/trailer coach/part of a building) is inhabited if someone lives there and either is present or has left but intends to return.] [The robbery was committed while the person robbed was using or had just used an ATM machine and was still near the machine.] [The robbery was committed while the person robbed was performing (his/her) duties as the driver of or was a passenger on (a/an) (bus/taxi/cable car/streetcar/trackless trolley/ <other kind of vehicle used to transport people.>.]”)
See also Penal Code 672 PC – Fines not otherwise prescribed. (“ Upon a conviction for any crime punishable by imprisonment in any jail or prison, in relation to which no fine is herein prescribed, the court may impose a fine on the offender not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) in cases of misdemeanors or ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in cases of felonies [including robbery], in addition to the imprisonment prescribed.”)
See also Penal Code 672 PC – Fines not otherwise prescribed, endnote 25, above.
Penal Code 12022.7 PC -- Terms of imprisonment for persons inflicting great bodily injury while committing or attempting felony [including a California robbery]. ("a) Any person who personally inflicts great bodily injury on any person other than an accomplice in the commission of a felony or attempted felony shall be punished by an additional and consecutive term of imprisonment in the state prison for three years. (b) Any person who personally inflicts great bodily injury on any person other than an accomplice in the commission of a felony or attempted felony which causes the victim to become comatose due to brain injury or to suffer paralysis of a permanent nature, shall be punished by an additional and consecutive term of imprisonment in the state prison for five years. As used in this subdivision, "paralysis" means a major or complete loss of motor function resulting from injury to the nervous system or to a muscular mechanism. (c) Any person who personally inflicts great bodily injury on a person who is 70 years of age or older, other than an accomplice, in the commission of a felony or attempted felony shall be punished by an additional and consecutive term of imprisonment in the state prison for five years. (d) Any person who personally inflicts great bodily injury on a child under the age of five years in the commission of a felony or attempted felony shall be punished by an additional and consecutive term of imprisonment in the state prison for four, five, or six years. (e) Any person who personally inflicts great bodily injury under circumstances involving domestic violence in the commission of a felony or attempted felony shall be punished by an additional and consecutive term of imprisonment in the state prison for three, four, or five years. As used in this subdivision, "domestic violence" has the meaning provided in subdivision (b) of [California Penal Code] Section 13700. (f) As used in this section "great bodily injury" means a significant or substantial physical injury.")
Penal Code 12022.53 PC – California's 10-20-life "use a gun and you're done" law. ("(a) This section applies to the following felonies: . . . (4) Section 211 (robbery). . . . (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who, in the commission of a felony specified in subdivision (a), personally uses a firearm, shall be punished by an additional and consecutive term of imprisonment in the state prison for 10 years. The firearm need not be operable or loaded for this enhancement to apply. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who, in the commission of a felony specified in subdivision (a), personally and intentionally discharges a firearm, shall be punished by an additional and consecutive term of imprisonment in the state prison for 20 years. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who, in the commission of a felony specified in subdivision (a), Section 246, or subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 26100, personally and intentionally discharges a firearm and proximately causes great bodily injury, as defined in Section 12022.7, or death, to any person other than an accomplice, shall be punished by an additional and consecutive term of imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life.”)
Penal Code 667.5 PC – Violent felonies. ("(c) For the purpose of this section, "violent felony" shall mean any of the following: . . . (9) Any [Penal Code 211 PC California] robbery . . . .")
Penal Code 667(e)(1) PC - Three strikes law. ("(e) For purposes of subdivisions (b) to (i), inclusive, and in addition to any other enhancement or punishment provisions which may apply, the following shall apply where a defendant has one or more prior serious and/or violent felony conviction [including robbery]: (1) If a defendant has one prior serious and/or violent felony conviction as defined in subdivision (d) that has been pled and proved, the determinate term or minimum term for an indeterminate term shall be twice the term otherwise provided as punishment for the current felony conviction. (2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), if a defendant has two or more prior serious and/or violent felony convictions [including robbery] as defined in subdivision (d) that have been pled and proved, the term for the current felony conviction shall be an indeterminate term of life imprisonment with a minimum term of the indeterminate sentence calculated as the greatest of: (i) Three times the term otherwise provided as punishment for each current felony conviction subsequent to the two or more prior serious and/or violent felony convictions. (ii) Imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years. (iii) The term determined by the court pursuant to Section 1170 for the underlying conviction, including any enhancement applicable under Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 1170) of Title 7 of Part 2, or any period prescribed by Section 190 or 3046.)”)
Penal Code 215 PC – Carjacking; punishment [compare to California robbery law].
Penal Code 487 PC – Grand theft defined [compare to definition of PC 211 robbery].
See also Penal Code 488 PC – Petty theft defined [compare to definition of Penal Code 211 robbery].
Penal Code 490 PC – Petty theft; punishment [contrast with robbery penalties].
Penal Code 489 PC – Grand theft; punishment [contrast with robbery penalties].
Penal Code 207 PC – California's kidnapping law [compare to legal definition of California robbery].
Penal Code 208 PC -- Punishment for kidnapping [compare to punishment for California robbery].
Penal Code 518 PC – Extortion [compare with legal definition of robbery].
Penal Code 519 PC – Definition of fear for purposes of extortion law [compare to definition of force or fear in California robbery law].
Penal Code 520 PC – Extortion; punishment [compare to robbery punishment].
Penal Code 459 PC – California's burglary law [may be charged along with Penal Code 211 PC robbery].
Penal Code 461 PC – Punishment [for burglary—may be in addition to penalties for robbery].
Penal Code 459.5 PC -- Shoplifting [compare to California robbery law].