Robbery is theft plus force or fear, and a firearm allegation can trigger mandatory prison time measured in decades. These cases are too serious to face without a defense built from the first day.
Call 904-383-7448Robbery in Florida, under section 812.13, Florida Statutes, is the taking of property from another person by the use of force, violence, assault, or by putting them in fear. The force-or-fear element is everything. Without it, the same act is a theft under section 812.014. With it, the charge becomes a serious felony, and if a firearm is involved, Florida's 10-20-Life law adds mandatory minimums that a judge cannot reduce.
If you are charged with robbery, say nothing and call 904-383-7448 right away.
What turns a theft into a robbery is the way the property is taken. Section 812.13 requires that, in the course of the taking, there be the use of force, violence, assault, or the putting of the victim in fear. The force can come before, during, or after the taking, as long as it is part of a continuous act. This element does heavy work. A pickpocket who takes a wallet without the victim noticing has committed theft, not robbery. A person who threatens or shoves the victim to get the same wallet has committed robbery. Because the line is the force or the fear, the defense often examines exactly what happened in the moment of the taking, whether any threat was real, and whether the victim was actually put in fear. The State must prove that element beyond a reasonable doubt, and it is not always as clear on the evidence as the report suggests.
Florida draws distinctions among related offenses, and each carries different exposure. Standard robbery requires force or fear in the taking. Robbery by sudden snatching is the taking of money or property from another person's body, where the victim was or became aware of the taking, but without the use of any force beyond what is needed to grab the item and without putting the victim in fear; it is graded lower than ordinary robbery precisely because that extra force or fear is missing. Carjacking is, in effect, robbery of a motor vehicle, and it is treated as a serious felony in its own right with enhanced penalties when force or fear is used to take the car. Sorting out which of these the facts actually support can change the degree of the offense and the prison exposure dramatically, so the precise label matters.
Robbery without a weapon is a second-degree felony, carrying up to fifteen years under section 775.082, Florida Statutes. Robbery with a weapon, or with a firearm or other deadly weapon, is a first-degree felony, punishable by a term up to life. Fines come from section 775.083, and a defendant with qualifying priors can also face enhancement under section 775.084. The presence and type of any weapon is therefore not a detail; it is one of the main facts that sets the ceiling on the case.
When a firearm is part of a robbery, Florida's 10-20-Life law, section 775.087, Florida Statutes, comes into play, and its mandatory minimums change the stakes entirely. Carrying a firearm during a qualifying felony such as robbery can carry a ten-year mandatory minimum. Discharging the firearm can carry a twenty-year minimum. Discharging it and causing great bodily harm or death can carry a minimum of twenty-five years up to life. These are mandatory terms that a judge must impose and cannot suspend, and they run on top of the sentence for the robbery itself. Because so much rides on the firearm allegation, a defense looks closely at whether a firearm was actually possessed, whether it was a firearm within the statute's meaning, and whether the State can tie it to the person charged. In multi-defendant cases especially, who had the gun and what they did with it can be sharply disputed.
Robbery prosecutions lean heavily on eyewitness identification, surveillance video, and recovered property, and each is open to challenge. Identifications made under stress, from a brief encounter, or through a suggestive lineup are unreliable in ways that research has documented for years. Video can be ambiguous about who did what and whether a weapon was present. Recovered property can reach an innocent person's hands. A defense gathers the footage and the witnesses early, tests the identification procedure, scrutinizes any firearm allegation, and presses the State on the force-or-fear element. Where the proof is weak, the goal may be a reduction to theft or a dismissal; where it is contested, the goal is to hold the State to its burden on every element and every enhancement.
Related: Felony & Violent Crimes overview · Theft & Grand Theft Defense · Weapons & Firearms Charges
Force or fear. Under section 812.13, robbery is taking property from another using force, violence, assault, or by putting them in fear. Without that element, the same act is a theft under section 812.014.
Carjacking is essentially the robbery of a motor vehicle, a serious felony with its own enhanced penalties. Robbery by sudden snatching, by contrast, is graded lower because it lacks the added force or fear that ordinary robbery requires.
Florida's 10-20-Life law applies mandatory minimums when a firearm is carried, discharged, or causes injury during a robbery: ten years for carrying, twenty for discharging, and twenty-five to life for causing injury or death. These run on top of the robbery sentence.
The call is free and confidential. Whether it is a traffic citation or a felony, the sooner a defense begins, the more can be done. Graham W. Syfert answers his own phone.
Call 904-383-7448Graham W. Syfert, Esq., P.A. · Jacksonville, Florida
Serving Duval, Clay, Nassau, and St. Johns Counties