Aggravated robbery is an extremely serious charge and you will need an extremely serious attorney to defend you. In Houston, TX, aggravated robbery is a first-degree offense that could land you in jail for life. Even if you dodge life imprisonment, this kind of charge will leave immeasurable damage to your records. Do not take a passive approach to the defense because the attorney will need to explore every possible option in order to avoid a conviction.
How much time will you possibly get for aggravated robbery charges?
Robbery charges become aggravated for one or more of the following reasons:
· The use or show of a deadly weapon.
· Causing serious bodily injury to a person.
· Causing bodily injury to a person of 65 years or more.
· Threatening a person who is of 65 years or more with bodily injury or even death.
· Causing injury to a disabled person.
· Threatening a disabled person with bodily injury or death.
In case you have no prior criminal record, an aggravated robbery charge could be anywhere from 5 to 99 years in prison. If you do not have a felony conviction and the sentencing is decided by a jury, the sentencing could result in probation. However, if you are found guilty and the judge sentences you instead, you will not get probation.
Aggravated robbery sentencing in Houston, TX
There are no specific guidelines for sentencing unlike the case of the federal sentencing system. This means that the judge or jury could decide on almost anything. Given that most aggravated robberies are caught on tape by surveillance cameras, fighting guilt or innocence at trial is almost impossible. This is when you really need a competent attorney to get the best sentence for you. A few factors are considered during sentencing, including:
· Bad character or acts.
· Good character or acts.
· Mitigating circumstances.
Good or bad acts
The prosecution could present your bad acts like criminal history or the defense lawyer could present evidence of your good acts like your work and education history, taking care of loved ones or your community involvement.
Mitigation evidence
These are the most important and your defense attorney will present them to the jury and explain their importance. Some of the mitigating factors include:
Your role in the offense– Despite the fact that under Texas law a defendant is just as guilty as all other actors, they (the defendant), might have had a lesser role like being an accomplice or an accessory to the crime committed by other people.
You were influenced by alcohol or drugs– In Texas, intoxication is not a defense for a crime. However, it could be a mitigating factor and this could lead to a lesser sentence. Your defense attorney could present evidence that you were under the influence of alcohol, drugs or both. In addition to that, the attorney will also present evidence that you would not have committed such a crime if you had not been intoxicated.
However, this can be dangerous and might work badly for your case because it will come off as an excuse and could anger the jurors. You will need an experienced attorney who will make it sound as if you have a problem that can be solved instead of coming out as if you are shirking your responsibility to the crime.
The motive for robbery– Evidence for your mitigating for committing the crime could be important in sentencing. However, this may sound like another excuse. In a situation, for instance, were you robbing because you feel your family financial situation is hopeless, the attorney could convince the jury that you only did a bad action with good intentions of helping your family.
There are others but in order for them to work for you, you will need a very competent defense attorney. Not only that, you will need to hire them as soon as you are arrested for the crime so they can prepare and decide the best strategies to use on your case.
