What constitutes a store robbery?

Handheld armed robbery is a serious crime. Contrary to what most people think, it constitutes more than just pointing a gun to another person in order to rob or steal. This type of crime also include using a fake gun, violence, taser, stun gun, or any other object that can be considered as a weapon for the purpose of committing robbery. Store robbery is one common example of this type of crime. Convenience stores, particularly those that operate 24 hours a day, are a common target of store robbers. Store robbery takes place when the suspects enter the store and use the weapons to threaten the people inside and to rob the store of money or goods. Some store robbers do not use real guns but this can still be considered as a store handheld armed robbery if the guns were believed to be real and they were used in the process of stealing money or goods.

Penalties for robbery are intensified when gun use is involved. For example, in the state of California, a robber who displays his/her gun during a robbery automatically has an additional 10 years in prison sentence. They will get twenty years additional imprisonment if the gun is fired and 25 years to life imprisonment if someone was shot. Handheld robberies, whether in a store, in a bank or in any other place, carry serious consequences such as lengthy prison time and payment of damages. If you have been charged of such crime, seek legal counsel from a criminal defense lawyer immediately.