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Robbery v. Theft by Shoplifting

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My last two robbery blogs discussed robbery by force and robbery by sudden snatching. Both contemplate the taking of someone’s property from their person or immediate presence. Moreover, both require that the victim be aware of the theft before it’s completed. The main difference, of course, is one does not require force, aka snatching.

But what about robbery by force or sudden snatching in a retail business?

I once represented someone accused of robbery by force for taking a case of beer from the refrigerator of a gas station without paying for it. The gas station employees attempted to stop my client from taking the beer. They blocked the exit and tried to pry the beer from his hand. With the case of beer tucked under one arm, he used the other to hit and push both employees to the ground. He then walked out of the store with the beer and drove away.

Robbery or Shoplifting?

I recall initially thinking this is shoplifting, not robbery. But I could not have been more wrong. First, let’s think about immediate presence. Like I mentioned in my last blog, immediate presence is not limited to “within arm’s length” or “facing the victim”. There is case law stating property is within the immediate presence of a shop keeper if it’s within the retail space (see Sweet v. State, 304 Ga.App. 474, 697 S.E.2d 246 (2010)).

As I’ve discussed before, the shopkeepers must be aware of the taking before it is complete. In my beer case, the beer was taken from the shopkeeper’s immediate presence (because it was in their retail space) AND they were aware of the taking before it was complete. Finally, my client used force to fend off the shopkeepers and complete the taking of the beer. The elements of robbery by force were all checked off.

A Different Order of Events

Now, let’s pretend the shopkeeper did not realize he was stealing the beer until the very moment he walked out the store exit? Theft by taking or shoplifting? I think a prosecutor in this scenario could make an argument for theft by sudden snatching because the shopkeeper is aware of the theft before it’s complete and property was removed from the shopkeeper’s immediate presence.

If you or someone you know has been charged with robbery contact our office today for a free consultation.

Robbery by Force

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Our last robbery blog discussed robbery by sudden snatching, and it is slightly different than robbery by force. Sudden snatching is when an offender is alleged to have stolen something from someone’s person or immediate presence without use of force or threat or intimidation. A key element of this crime is that the victim is aware of the theft before it’s complete.

What is Robbery by Force?

Robbery by force is the same except, of course, the offender uses force to steal something from another’s person or immediate presence. Force doesn’t have to be a violent act causing injury, per se. Think about it as any amount of force beyond snatching, usually resulting when the victim attempts to stop the offender from stealing their property and the offender responds with physical force.

What is Immediate Presence?

Let’s talk about “immediate presence”. How far does it extend? In Georgia, immediate presence is not limited to within arm’s length or facing the victim. Georgia case law seems to set the standard that so long as property is within the victim’s sight at the time of the robbery, it’s within their immediate presence. (See Perkins v. State, 256 Ga.App. 449, 568 S.E. 2d (2002) and Short v. State, 276 Ga. App 340, 623 S.E. 2d 195 (2005).

If you or someone you know has been charged with robbery contact our office today for a free consultation.

Robbery by Sudden Snatching

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Robbery or Burglary?

It is not uncommon for people to use “robbery” and “burglary” interchangeably. For example, a person enters their home to discovery it’s been ransacked. They might exclaim, “I’ve been robbed!” That exclamation is inaccurate under Georgia law. In Georgia, that person is a victim of burglary, not robbery, because Georgia defines burglary as entering, or remaining in, a building without authority with the intent to commit a felony.

Robbery on the other hand contemplates taking property from the person or immediate presence of another with intent to commit theft. There are three types of robbery in Georgia: robbery by force, intimidation or threat of violence, and sudden snatching. I will review all three flavors in future blog posts, but for now let’s review sudden snatching.

Robbery by Snatching Scenario

When I think of robbery by sudden snatching, I picture an elderly woman walking along a city sidewalk with her purse. Suddenly, her purse is snatched off her shoulder by a swift offender. The offender does not use any force to take the purse from her; he merely snatches it off her person.

The lack of force employed to secure the purse highlights a key distinction between robbery by force and sudden snatching. If the elderly woman resisted and the offender used force by, say, pushing her to the ground to take her purse, then the offender committed robbery by force, not sudden snatching. Sudden snatching literally means taking the purse without any use of force.

A Key Distinction

Another key element of robbery by sudden snatching is that the victim must be conscious of the theft before it is completed. Say the elderly woman walking down the street does not realize the offender snatched her purse from her person, and only realizes her purse is missing when she attempts to pay the fee at her dry cleaners later that afternoon. As the offender’s attorney, I would argue the offender could not be prosecuted for robbery by sudden snatching because the victim was not aware of the theft when it happened. The offender may be guilty of theft by taking (because theft by taking does not require the victim to be conscious of the theft before it is completed), but he is not guilty of robbery by sudden snatching.

If you or someone you know has been charged with robbery contact our office today for a free consultation. We will be happy to walk through your goals and inform you of the various defenses that can be implemented for your case.

by Sarah Armstrong