1st Degree Robbery Downgraded to Simple Assault

Simple Assault Charges

Our criminal defense attorneys recently defended a juvenile client who had been charged and arrested for 1st degree Robbery. The State alleged the following facts; first that our client along with three other accomplices, including his brother, had confronted the victim in a park while walking home. Then the group of males pushed the victim to the ground and began assaulting him by punching him several times. Then one of the assailants pulled a knife and demanded the victim’s cell phone. The State further alleged, that before it could go any farther, bystanders came to the rescue of the victim and the four assailants fled on foot. The victim was escorted to police headquarters where he was able to identity two of the individuals involved and give descriptions of the other two. Based on the victim’s first hand identification, our client and his brother were both arrested and charged with 1st degree Robbery, 3rd degree Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purposes, and 4th Unlawful Possession of a Weapon.

The case originally started with custodial (incarceration) offers on the table. But we maintained our client’s “not guilty” plea and began attacking weaknesses in the State’s case against our client. Although the State had a firsthand identification by the victim witness, there was no knife ever found, none of the victim’s property was taken and our client did not make an incriminating statement. Using this information, we prepped the case for trial. On the last status conference before the trial, the State conceded to the deficiencies in their proofs and it was ultimately decided that our client would receive an adjourned disposition and plead guilty to a disorderly persons offense of Simple Assault and all other charges to be dismissed. The adjourned disposition meant that upon a successful completion of probation, the guilty plea would also be dismissed in its entirety, leaving our client with no criminal or juvenile record.

State v. V.C.