Robbery, in its simplest terms, is the act of depriving the rightful owner of their property, permanently, by taking it either forcefully or in their absence. According to the State Laws in Virginia, robbery is a felony that is punishable by the court of law. The following stature defines the punishment for Robbery in Alexandria Virginia:
According to the §18.2-58 Code of Virginia, any action of a citizen in Virginia caught taking another individual’s possession, either by terrorizing the individual or by an act of force, with the aim to deprive the rightful owner of their property (permanently) is called the act of robbery. Alexandria Virginia takes the act of robbery as a severe charge by penalizing the robber to spend no more than 5 years in prison.
- 18.2-58 Code of Virginia – The Law in Detail
In the state of Virginia, before the offender is convicted for the act of robbery, the Commonwealth must verify:
- Robbery in the state of Virginia taking: Taking refer to the offender obtaining full control of the victim’s property.
- By violence, threats, force, or intimidation: The act of violence can occur prior to, or at the time of robbing the victim’s property. This part of the clause can only be met if Virginia’s Commonwealth is able to prove the offender’s act of threat, violence, force or intimidation used by the wrongdoer before they are convicted of robbery. By referring to violence, any act of bodily violence, putting the victim in injury or fear, or frightening the victim with a lethal weapon will be taken as violence.
- Of the victim’s personal property: before charging the wrongdoer with robbery, Virginia’s Commonwealth must have proof of the wrongdoer taking the victim’s personal property.
- in their presence
- with the intention to deny the owner of their property permanently: The Commonwealth must have solid evidence of the wrongdoer’s intention of refusing the victim of their property before being placed the charge of robbery.
Robbery in Alexandria, Virginia can be broadly classified into three groups, i.e.:
First Degree Robbery
This offense states to all those robbery crimes where the robber uses violence and force with the victim or intimidates using a lethal weapon. Those offenders sentenced to the first-degree robbery will be penalized by serving minimum 10 years of jail time. The gravity of this offense can be seen by the fact that the robber might also be penalized for serving a life sentence for this crime.
Second Degree Robbery
Second-degree robbery is an offense where the offender gives the victim a fear of physical injury, or if the offender shortly disables the victim by electrically shocking or drugging them. These actions will send the robber for second-degree robbery charges. The penalty will be the offender serving a minimum sentence of 5 years to 18 years of jail time.
Carjacking
The act of robbing someone’s car is considered as Carjacking. Those offenders guilty of committing this offense will be penalized by having to serve 15 years as jail time.