Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
Crimes by Code
Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
California DUI
DUI arrests don't always lead to convictions in court. Police officer mistakes, faulty breathalyzers and crime lab errors may get your charges reduced or dismissed. Visit our California DUI page to learn more.
Post Conviction
A criminal record can affect job, immigration, licensing and even housing opportunities. In this section, we offer solutions for clearing up your prior record.
Call or Message Us 24/7
(855) 999-7755
Please note: Our firm only handles criminal and DUI cases, and only in California. We do not handle any of the following cases:
And we do not handle any cases outside of California.
Call Us NowPosted on
In California, attempted robbery is when someone intends to use force or fear to take someone’s property from them, and then performs an act in furtherance of the robbery. It is a violent felony that carries up to 3 years in prison. However, there are some strong legal defenses that a criminal defense attorney can raise to fight the charge.
An attempted robbery happens when someone intends to rob someone, and then takes an action towards committing the crime but does not complete it.
In California, the crime of robbery is prohibited by California Penal Code section 211 PC. The elements of the crime are:
It is first-degree robbery if any of the following factors were in play:
It is second-degree robbery in all other situations.3
The robbery does not have to be completed or successful to break the law, though. Attempted crimes are also illegal in California.
California Penal Code 664 PC provides the legal definition for attempted crimes. Prosecutors have to show that the defendant:
The direct step has to be more than merely thinking, planning, or preparing to commit the crime of robbery. Instead, it has to put the specific intent to commit the crime into motion.5
The penalties for a conviction on attempted robbery charges are one-half of what would have been imposed, had the offense been committed.6 Because robbery is a serious felony, rather than a misdemeanor, the penalties of a conviction for an attempted robbery are still severe. They involve lengthy stints in state prison rather than county jail.
If the defendant attempted to commit a first-degree robbery, therefore, a conviction would carry up to:
If it was an attempted second-degree robbery, a conviction would carry up to:
There are also sentencing enhancements that can increase the repercussions and the prison sentence for an attempted robbery conviction. These include:
There are several strong legal defenses to criminal charges of attempted robbery. The most common include:
Establishing an attorney-client relationship with a criminal defense lawyer from a local law firm is the best way to determine which line of defense is the best for your case.
California’s criminal law requires that the prosecutor prove that the defendant intended to commit a robbery. He or she has to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt. Most of the time, the prosecutor has to imply the defendant’s intent from his or her physical actions. When the crime was merely attempted, not completed, this can be difficult. Throwing doubt on the defendant’s true intentions can be a strong defense.
To prove a case of attempted robbery, the prosecutor has to show that there was an act in furtherance of the offense. A strong legal defense is to show that the defendant’s conduct never moved the robbery forward.
For example: Jeremy buys a mask, a gun, and a bag with a dollar sign on it to rob a store. He is still deciding which store to rob when police arrest him. Jeff has yet to take a step in furtherance of the robbery – so far he has just prepared to commit the crime.
Mistaken identity can also be a strong defense to an attempted robbery allegation. Victims often struggle to identify a robber, even if the offense was completed. Uncompleted or aborted robberies are even more likely to lead to a case of mistaken identities.
An important legal defense to an attempted crime is abandonment. Defendants abandon a crime by taking a voluntary act that ends their role in its commission. This can happen even after the defendant has already taken a direct act in furtherance of a robbery.
The abandonment defense becomes complicated when there is more than one person conspiring to commit a crime.
Robbery requires the property to be either:
The presence of the victim when the property is taken is one of the things that makes robbery different from theft. By arguing that the victim was not adequately present, robbery defendants can try reducing the charges to a theft offense. Convictions for these offenses are often less severe.
Some offenses under California law that are related to attempted robbery include:
Theft is the crime of taking someone else’s property, without the owner’s consent, and with the intent to permanently deprive them of it.
In California, there are 2 types of theft, depending on the value of the property:
The 2 differences between theft and robbery are:
Solicitation is the crime of asking someone else to commit a crime, with the intent that the crime actually be committed. Soliciting a robbery is different from attempting one because the defendant in the solicitation case would not have been the person trying to take the property. Instead, the defendant would be accused of getting someone else to take the property, for them.
Conspiracy is the crime of agreeing with at least one other person to commit a crime, and then one of the conspirators committing an act in furtherance of that agreement.
Conspiracy to commit a robbery is similar to attempting to commit one. However, the defendant in a conspiracy case did not necessarily have to be the person who acted in furtherance of the crime.
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.