An Estes Robbery is a felony that can result in a prison sentence of between 2 and 5 years depending on the facts of the case. The more violent the force involved in the crime generally the longer the sentence.
Estes Robberies start out as petty theft, but then become robbery. The robbery is named after the court case People vs. Estes. Estes walked into a Sears store, put on one of their coats, and walked out of the store without paying. Then, when a security guard tried to stop Estes, Estes threatened him with a knife. link(​​https://casetext.com/case/people-v-estes-10)
This kind of robbery occurs when someone steals something from a store, but someone tries to stop them - like an employee or loss prevention. If the thief uses force to try to get away, then what was petty theft becomes robbery because of the use of force.