Charge of Robbery

What to Do if Accused of Robbery?

Have you received a police summons or a charge for robbery under § 249 StGB or an aggravated form of robbery under §§ 249 ff. StGB (e.g., for aggravated robbery under § 250 StGB or robbery resul­ting in death under § 251 StGB) and want to know what you should do next?

First, you should remain calm. As the accused, you are not obli­gated to make any state­ments to the police and may remain silent. Since robbery offenses carry severe penal­ties, you should contact a compe­tent lawyer specia­li­zing in defen­ding against robbery charges as soon as possible.

When Have You Committed Robbery?

Robbery under § 249 StGB is one of the most serious offenses against property.

Objec­tively, a robbery charge requires the taking of another’s movable property. This taking must be done through the use of force or threats. These include violence and threats of imme­diate danger to life or limb.

Violence is committed when a person exerts physical force, either directly or indi­rectly, to break the victim’s resis­tance.

A threat of imme­diate danger to life or limb exists when harm or a nega­tive event is threa­tened to another person, and the person making the threat has control or claims to have control over the event’s occur­rence. The threa­tened person must take the threat seriously.

The taking must occur speci­fi­cally through the use of violence or threats. What matters here is that there is a close temporal and spatial connec­tion.

The use of force is the key distinc­tion from theft. In theft, the property is usually taken unno­ticed, and the use of force is not neces­sary for the taking.

Subjec­tively, the perpe­trator must have acted inten­tio­nally with the intent to unlawfully enrich them­selves or a third party.

Special Case – Aggravated Robbery, § 250 StGB

Robbery can be committed in diffe­rent ways. Aggravated robbery is a more serious form of “simple robbery,” and ther­e­fore carries a much higher penalty.

Aggravated robbery occurs if a dange­rous weapon or any other tool or means is carried during the offense. The tool or means must at least be capable of causing serious injury to another person.

It is also considered aggravated robbery if the victim suffers serious bodily harm.

If the crime is committed by a group, as part of a gang, this can also consti­tute aggravated robbery. This requires the invol­vement of at least three people.

The offense of parti­cu­larly aggravated robbery under § 250 (2) StGB covers cases where the perpe­trator not only carried a dange­rous weapon or tool during the crime but also used it.

Special Case – Robbery Resulting in Death, § 251 StGB

Robbery resul­ting in death occurs when the perpe­trator causes the death of another person during the robbery. The perpe­trator does not need to have acted inten­tio­nally but at least negli­gently. This means that the perpe­trator failed to exer­cise the care required by the situa­tion due to reck­less­ness or indif­fe­rence.

What Punishment Can I Expect if Convicted?

The penalty for robbery is a prison sentence of no less than one year. In less serious cases, the sentence ranges from six months to five years. With repre­sen­ta­tion from a compe­tent legal advisor, it may be possible to be convicted of a lesser offense, which in some cases could lead to a suspended sentence, avoi­ding the need to serve time in prison.

For aggravated robbery, the penalty is a prison sentence of no less than three years. However, the sentence can extend to no less than five years if the perpe­trator not only carried a weapon or dange­rous tool but also used it during the crime. The same applies if another person was severely injured or placed in mortal danger during the robbery. In less serious cases, the penalty ranges from one year to ten years in prison.

If the robbery resulted in the death of another person (robbery with fatal conse­quences), the sentence may be life impri­son­ment or a prison term of no less than ten years.

The seve­rity of the punish­ment always depends on the circum­s­tances of the indi­vi­dual case, parti­cu­larly the use of force or threats, the harm caused (such as injury to the victim), or the perpe­tra­tor’s prior convic­tions.

Do I Need a Lawyer?

To mini­mize the sentence or even avoid a convic­tion, the assis­tance of a specia­list is essen­tial if you are accused in a criminal case of robbery.

Robbery is a serious crime with severe penal­ties, so you should contact a specia­lized lawyer in a timely manner.

If you have received a summons as a suspect, you should imme­dia­tely contact a criminal defense attorney.

Since robbery under § 249 StGB and its aggravated forms are clas­si­fied as serious crimes, this is a case of neces­sary defense, meaning you are entitled to a public defender.

If you are asked to choose a public defender, you should defi­ni­tely exer­cise this right and select a lawyer specia­lized in criminal law. Do not leave the choice of a lawyer to the court, as this is the only way to ensure that a know­led­geable expert will repre­sent you.

The law firm Mügge, Dr. Pitschel & Partner offers expert advice and defense with years of expe­ri­ence in nume­rous robbery cases. If you have further ques­tions or are accused in a criminal case, feel free to contact us.