Robbery charges
A robbery charge means the prosecution says you took property from someone using force or a threat of force. It is a theft charge and a violent charge at once, which is why it is treated as serious in every state. Whether a weapon or an injury is alleged usually raises the level. Here is how each state defines it.
What the charge means
Robbery is, in plain terms, a theft with force or a threat. A purse snatch, a demand with a weapon and a fight over property can all be charged as robbery, at very different levels. Many robbery cases turn on identification: whether the witness picked the right person, and how.
Court by court
New York
Robbery is defined as forcible stealing: using or threatening immediate physical force in the course of a larceny [1]. The degree depends on facts such as a weapon, an injury or another person taking part; your lawyer reads the exact section charged.
New Jersey
Robbery is, in the course of a theft, inflicting bodily injury or using force, threatening or purposely putting someone in fear of immediate bodily injury, or committing or threatening a first or second degree crime. It is a crime of the second degree, or of the first degree if the person attempts to kill, purposely inflicts or attempts to inflict serious bodily injury, or is armed with or uses or threatens the immediate use of a deadly weapon [2].
Florida
Robbery is taking money or property from another person's body or custody, meaning to deprive them of it, using force, violence, assault or putting them in fear. It is a felony of the first degree if the person carried a firearm, deadly weapon or other weapon, and of the second degree if not [3].
Pennsylvania
Robbery covers conduct the statute lists in the course of a theft, from inflicting serious bodily injury to taking property from a person by force however slight. It is graded as a felony of the first, second or third degree depending on that conduct [4].
What to do now
- Do not talk to the police, and do not agree to a lineup, photo array or interview without a lawyer.
- Write down for your lawyer only where you were and who you were with, with any proof such as receipts or location history. Do not delete anything.
- Do not contact the complaining witness or anyone named in the case.
- Treat every jail call as recorded, and do not post about the case.
For the steps ahead in your court, use What happens next or the court pages for New York, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania.
Common questions
The police want me to come in for a lineup or an interview. What do I do?
Call a lawyer before you go anywhere or say anything. Identification is often the central question in a robbery case, and your lawyer should be involved from the start.
Someone else was with me. Should I tell the police who?
Not without a lawyer. What you say about others can be used against you too.
Sources
- N.Y. Penal Law § 160.00 (rev. 2014-09-22). Current as of November 11, 2026. Official text
- N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1. Current as of November 12, 2026. Official text
- Fla. Stat. § 812.13 (2026). Current as of November 12, 2026. Official text
- 18 Pa.C.S. § 3701(a)(1), (b)(1). Current as of November 12, 2026. Official text
Arrested, or think you might be? Call before you answer any questions.
Call and tell us who was arrested or contacted and where the case is. A lawyer will tell you what happens next and what to do tonight. Please do not type what happened into a form or an email. We will talk about it on the phone.