Armed Robbery Charges Attorney Glendale-Whitefish Bay office near Bayshore Mall

Will you go to prison if you commit an armed robbery in Bayside or Whitefish Bay?

Armed robberies are considered a serious offense in the state of Wisconsin and you definitely could be facing prison time depending on the seriousness of the offense and your criminal history. In Glendale and Whitefish Bay, an armed robbery is a Class E felony. This means that you are facing up to 15 years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine. If convicted in Glendale or Whitefish Bay, it is not reasonable to assume that you will receive only a fine. If there is a dangerous weapon that is used or threatened to be used, it can then be classified as a Class C felony and the maximum penalties are 40 years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine.

A felony conviction comes with two very serious penalties in Wisconsin. First, there is a lifetime ban of possessing any firearms, and this right is not something that can be reinstated. The second is the loss of civil rights for things such as voting. This can be reinstated following the completion of your case, but for a period of time you would not be able to legally vote.

Armed Robbery in Glendale and Whitefish Bay

There are a lot of different elements that go into an armed robbery and a lot of legal questions surrounding them. The law says that anyone who steals property from someone in their presence by either using force or threatening the use of force is guilty of robbery. In establishing defenses in an armed robbery case, an aggressive and knowledgeable attorney will review issues including what it means to threaten a dangerous weapon:

• Does this mean that if you show a gun that a dangerous weapon has been threatened?
• What if you shape your fingers like a weapon and put them under your sweatshirt to make it look like you have a weapon?
• How would you define a dangerous weapon in a situation like an armed robbery?
• What happens if you threaten to use a dangerous weapon but no one can see that you have a dangerous weapon?
• Could something like a tree branch be considered a dangerous weapon in this type of situation?
• What makes a weapon dangerous?
• And what makes something a weapon?

There are many issues that can be picked apart in an armed robbery case, and it is so important to have an aggressive criminal defense attorney by your side. 

Another issue that comes up in these types of cases in Glendale and Whitefish Bay is being charged as party to a crime. This means that anybody involved in the incident can be charged with the same crime, but it would have the classification of being party to the crime. This means that in the situation of a bank robbery, for example, the person driving the getaway car would be party to that crime. They are assisting in the execution of the crime itself. If in an armed robbery situation, there are multiple players, each and every one of them can be charged with armed robbery as party to a crime in Glendale and Whitefish Bay. Even if you did not necessarily hold the gun, or dangerous weapon and threaten somebody, if you were present or assisted in the robbery in any way, you can also be charged with a serious crime.