What makes a robbery aggravated
In states that use the term, what makes a robbery aggravated is set by each state's law and usually involves a weapon or an injury. New York reaches similar conduct through its degrees. The first degree is reserved for the most serious situations, usually involving a weapon or a serious injury. Even an object that only looked like a gun can matter in New York, although the law treats a robbery with an object that was not a loaded, working firearm somewhat differently. Reading the precise statute on the charging document is the first task.
Was there really a weapon?
Many aggravated robbery cases turn on what witnesses believed they saw. A hand in a pocket, a phone, or a dark object can be described as a gun under stress, and often no weapon is recovered. When a weapon is recovered, how and where it was found, and whether it is linked to the person charged, become questions of their own. For injury-based charges, the full medical records decide whether the injury meets the higher threshold the charge requires. Video and the timing of 911 calls can confirm or contradict these accounts.
Next steps
If the charge is from another state, it will be handled in that state's courts, and you will usually need local counsel there; we can help coordinate and review how it could affect matters in New York. In a New York case, we look at release conditions, whether a grand jury has acted, and whether others were charged with you. Do not discuss the case with co-defendants or on monitored calls. Sentences for weapon-based robbery can be severe in most states, and the consequences for immigration and firearm rights are serious, so those questions are raised at the start.
