California Robbery prosecution – California penal code 211

To prove that the defendant committed robbery, the prosecution must prove that:

1. The defendant took property that was not (his/her) own;
2. The property was taken from another persons possession and immediate presence;
3. The property was taken against that persons will;
4. The defendant used force or fear to take the property or to prevent the person from resisting; AND
5. When the defendant used force or fear to take the property, (he/she) intended to deprive the owner of it permanently or to remove it from the owner’s possession for so extended a period of time that the owner would be deprived of a major portion of the value or enjoyment of the property.

The defendants intent to take the property must have been formed before or during the time (he/she) used force or fear. If the defendant did not form this required intent until after using the force or fear, then (he/she) did not commit robbery.

A person takes something when he or she gains possession of it and moves it some distance. The distance moved may be short.

The property taken can be of any value, however slight. In addition, two or more people may possess something at the same time.

A person does not have to actually hold or touch something to possess it. It is enough if the person has control over it or the right to control it, either personally or through another person.

Fear, as used here, means fear of injury to the person himself or herself, or injury to the persons family or property, or immediate injury to someone else present during the incident or to that persons property.

Property is within a persons immediate presence if it is sufficiently within his or her physical control that he or she could keep possession of it if not prevented by force or fear.

An act is done against a persons will if that person does not consent to the act. In order to consent, a person must act freely and voluntarily and know the nature of the act.