Robbery Lawyer Pearland TX
As a Pearland, TX robbery lawyer knows, when you have been accused of robbery, it is time to work with the professionals. Robbery charges may sound like not a big deal, right? However, robbery charges are not only when someone accuses you of taking something that was not yours, but it also means that you are being accused of threatening to use force against someone else or actually using physical force against someone else while stealing. The lawyers at Keith B. French Law, PLLC see these kinds of charges with crimes like mugging, bank robberies, and carjackings. Your lawyer will need to create a solid defense that shows you:
- Did not commit theft, and
- Did not knowingly cause harm or physical injury (or threaten to do so) to another person
When you are facing these charges, the sooner you can speak with a lawyer, the sooner they can begin building a case on your behalf and speaking for you when people want to ask you questions.
Robbery in Texas: The Basics
If you have been charged with robbery-related wrongdoing, it is important that you connect with an experienced Pearland, TX robbery lawyer as soon as you can. Prosecutors treat robbery offenses very seriously in Texas, as lawmakers in the state do not mess around when it comes to crimes having to do with property. As a result, you’ll want to mount the strongest possible defense to the charges you’re facing. Otherwise, you will be subjected to very serious, life-altering consequences.
As the reputable legal team at Keith B. French Law, PLLC can explain in greater detail during a risk-free, confidential case evaluation session, both robbery and aggravated robbery are felony charges in Texas. This means that they are both considered to be severe crimes (as opposed to misdemeanors, which are lesser crimes).
Robbery – which is a felony in the second degree – occurs when someone (in the course of committing theft and with intent to obtain or maintain control of the property in question) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes physical harm to another or intentionally or knowingly either threatens or places another in fear of imminent death or bodily injury.
By contrast, aggravated robbery – which is a felony in the first degree – occurs if a robbery (as defined above) results in the serious physical harm of another, involves a deadly weapon, and/or the victim is either a person with a disability or is at least 65 years of age.
Why You Need to Speak with a Lawyer Right Now
Both felonies in the second degree and felonies in the first degree are serious crimes. If you are convicted of the charges you’re facing, you could be sentenced to decades in prison, steep, fines, and a host of other life-altering consequences handed down by a judge. You will also have a criminal record that will make it extremely difficult for you to secure employment, housing, schooling, and financing for the rest of your life.
Working with an experienced and knowledgeable legal professional at Keith B. French Law, PLLC will help to ensure that your chances of being convicted are as low as they can possibly be. In the event that a conviction can’t be avoided, our Pearland robbery lawyer team will do everything in our power to ensure that the consequences you’ll face will be minimized to the greatest possible extent. We can’t ethically guarantee the outcome of any case. But we can say with confidence that our firm has proven that it understands how to get results.
A Note About Civil Liability
If you’re concerned about being held accountable in civil court for injuring another, please alert our Pearland robbery lawyer team to this concern. While your criminal case is the more pressing issue at hand, it is also important to respond to any civil actions in a prompt and proactive manner to minimize your liability in a civil context. Civil and criminal cases are separate but there may be a need to address both simultaneously, depending upon when each is filed.
What kind of punishment is there for robbery in Texas?
If convicted, you are facing serious punishment. Robbery is considered a second-degree felony which means you may be facing up to 20 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. Worse, if you are facing aggravated robbery–committing robbery and causing serious bodily harm or using a deadly weapon–you would be facing a first-degree felony. This could mean you are in prison for up to 99 years and facing $10,000 in fines.
What should you do?
Never try to defend yourself when it comes to criminal charges. Cases that may appear simple can become increasingly complicated. It’s true that you will never find a lawyer who can guarantee you a positive outcome. No one can know the future. However, you want to know that you are giving these charges everything you have. With a Pearland robbery lawyer, you can face these charges with confidence knowing you have a lawyer who will work to find a defense specific to your case.
Using Texas Law In Your Favor
When you are facing robbery or aggravated robbery charges, you may think that the law is not on your side. In fact, it can quickly feel like no one is on your side when you face charges like this. However, when you work with our team, it is crucial you understand that you have someone by your side throughout this legal process who will gather evidence for your defense and aggressively fight on your behalf. You never have to feel alone during this difficult time. When you are ready to defend yourself with a seasoned lawyer, call our office.
How To Use the Law To Defend Yourself
When you work with our team, we will be examining the details of Texas law to determine how we can use it in your favor. This means carefully crafting a defense that is specific to your needs and your case. While it may seem like the law is automatically not on your side during criminal accusations, this is not necessarily the case. It simply takes a criminal defense lawyer to see it.
- There was no knowledge. This defense essentially means that you did not know that what you were doing was theft. You may have taken someone else’s jacket that is exactly the same type of jacket you have and believed it to be your own.
- There was no intent. If the person accused you of stealing something or using harm to get something from them, it is possible that the series of events may have led to the person becoming injured without you intending to do that at all.
- There was no fear. It is easy to say that a person feared for their life but that does not necessarily make it the case. If your lawyer can prove that the other party did not fear for their safety or life, this can greatly help your case.
- The injuries don’t make sense. A person may say that you caused them harm when trying to steal something. However, your lawyer may utilize a medical expert to determine if the injuries they have match what they are accusing you of or if the injuries they have were pre-existing.
- There was no weapon involved. If there is a person accusing you of aggravated robbery but there was no deadly weapon involved, your lawyer may be able to quickly get your charges reduced.
Why are these defenses so important?
Depending on the type of robbery you are being accused of, you may be looking at a first or second-degree felony. This can mean thousands of dollars in fines and anywhere between two and 99 years in prison. When you work with a lawyer who knows Texas law inside and out and understands how to use the law in your favor, you may be looking at reduced charges or dropped charges. Do not leave your conviction up to yourself. Instead, reach out to our office to see how we can begin defending your name when someone accuses you of robbery or aggravated robbery.
What steps should I take when I have been charged with robbery?
Immediately upon hearing you are facing robbery charges, you should call a lawyer from Keith B. French Law, PLLC. Waiting around and trying to do this on your own can only make this worse for you. You should not call your family members and try to explain what happened from your point of view. You should especially not try to defend yourself when speaking with police officers. Many well-intentioned people believe that if they could only defend themselves to police officers then they would be able to move on from this and avoid a conviction. However, anything you say can be used against you when you go to court.
Once you are told of these charges, call our office and rest assured that we will begin working diligently on your behalf. If you need help with robbery charges, know who to call. Speak with a Pearland robbery lawyer from Keith B. French Law, PLLC today.
