What Turns A Robbery Into An Aggravated Robbery? A Former DA Explains The Law! (2021)

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Why exactly is someone charged with aggravated robbery instead of robbery? In this video, we’re going to look at the differences between each.

Defining Robbery and Aggravated Robbery in Texas

The Texas Penal Code explains robbery and aggravated robbery crimes as follows:
Definition of Robbery. Robbery is when a person commits an act of theft and intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to the victim or intentionally or knowingly threatens or places the victim in fear of imminent bodily injury or death.


Definition of Aggravated Robbery. The charges may be elevated to aggravated robbery when the perpetrator a) causes serious bodily injury to the victim, b) uses or exhibits a deadly weapon in the course of a robbery or c) commits an act of robbery against an elderly or disabled person.
In other words, the differences between robbery and aggravated robbery in Texas boil down to:
1. bodily injury vs. serious bodily injury
2. if the victim is elderly or disabled
3. the use of a deadly weapon


Let’s look at each of the aggravating factors
1. Serious bodily injury. If the alleged victims weren’t injured at all, let alone seriously. But maybe they were placed in fear of imminent bodily injury or death, but no actual injury occurred. Based on that, the first aggravating factor would not apply.
2. Elderly or disabled victims. We know the victims were not elderly or disabled, then this aggravating factor would not apply either.
3. The use of a deadly weapon. Here’s where things get tricky. What if there was a gun used here? What if the “gun” used in the robbery was really just a toy. Obviously, a toy gun is not a deadly weapon. I also represented a client that had an unloaded air soft gun as an example.
However, state law typically asks whether a reasonable person could believe that when the robbery took place, the offender possessed a deadly weapon. Scenarios exist in which robbery victims believed a toy gun, a stick, or even a covered hand was a deadly weapon.

This is where the aggravated charge can arise, and a significant amount of attention in a case where there was a “toy” gun or no shooting took place at all will likely be spent with the prosecution working to prove that the victims believed the accused had a deadly weapon, while the defense argues that they should have known it was fake.


If the evidence supports the threat of deadly force along with an item that could potentially be perceived as a deadly weapon, prosecutors are likely to build a strong case around those aggravated robbery charges.


Only a skilled Texas criminal defense attorney will be able to credibly advise on the best defense strategies for fighting robbery charges in this specific situation, but it is possible that their lawyer might attempt a combination of common defense strategies – lack of intent to harm someone plus the argument that the toy gun was not in fact a deadly weapon, for example. Even if the court sides with the defense on that, the defendants will likely need to address the recklessness of their actions.

While both offenses are classified as felonies, there is a huge difference between the consequences associated with robbery and those attached to an aggravated robbery conviction.
A regular robbery offense is classified as a second-degree felony. If convicted, a perpetrator will face anywhere from two to 20 years in state prison and/or be required to pay a fine of up to $10,000.



Aggravated robbery penalties, however, are significantly worse. Since it is classified as a felony of the first degree, it carries a much heftier sentence – five to 99 years in state prison. Those convicted of aggravated robbery may also be liable to pay a fine of up to $10k.


Do you have questions about your robbery charge? Call the Hampton Law Firm at 817-877-5200 and we will be happy to look this information up for you and give you a free case analysis.




0:00 What Turns A Robbery Into An Aggravated Robbery? A Former DA Explains The Law!
00:49 What is “Robbery?”
01:10 What is an "Aggravated Robbery?"
01:39 What are the main differences of Robbery and Aggravated Robbery?
01:57 What is a "Serious Bodily Injury?"
03:00 What is a "Deadly Weapon?"
04:30 How can an experienced criminal attorney defend your charges?
05:05 How does Texas penalise Robbery and Aggravated Robbery?