2nd Degree Robbery Dismissed

Robbery Charges

Our attorneys defended a client who was charged with a 2nd degree Robbery and facing 5 – 10 years in state prison with a presumption of incarceration that would be subject to N.E.R.A. (serve 85% of sentence without parole). Because it was a 2nd degree crime, this meant that if he was convicted, it was assumed that he would have to go to state prison for a minimum of 5 years and serve approximately 4 years and 3 months before even being eligible for release on parole.

The robbery charges originated from allegations that our client and other defendants had shoplifted from a convenience and during their flight from the crime scene, they had assaulted store employees who had tried to stop them. The combination of the theft and the subsequent assault, changed it from an ordinary shoplifting to a strong armed robbery. The case was first sent to the Superior Court and after being reviewed by the County Prosecutor’s Office, the case was eventually downgraded and remanded to municipal court. Once in municipal court we challenged the proof issues against our client and maintained a plea of “not guilty” for our client. After no resolution could be reached, the case was eventually set for trial. On the day of trial the State was unable to meet their burden of proof that our client was in fact involved in the robbery or the original shoplifting and upon motion by the State, the charges against our client were dismissed in their entirety.

State v. ALS