Robbery & Armed Robbery Defense — Florida

Under Florida Statute § 812.13, robbery is a violent felony — not an aggravated theft. Strong-arm robbery carries up to 15 years as a second-degree felony. Robbery with a weapon jumps to a first-degree felony with up to 30 years. Robbery with a firearm triggers Florida’s 10-20-Life mandatory minimums under § 775.087 — 10 years minimum even if no one was hurt, up to life imprisonment. These cases are defensible, but only with a lawyer who knows the statute cold.

Legally reviewed by Tonmiel Rodriguez, Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer — last reviewed June 2026.

What Is Robbery Under Florida Law?

Robbery under § 812.13 is the taking of money or property from the person or custody of another — with force, violence, assault, or putting in fear during the taking — with intent to permanently or temporarily deprive. The critical word is “from the person or in their presence.” A theft that happens away from the victim — even a violent one — is not robbery. That distinction matters at the charging level and at trial.

Three elements must all be present: (1) a taking of property, (2) from the person or custody of another, and (3) force, violence, assault, or putting in fear occurring during the taking. If the State cannot prove all three beyond a reasonable doubt, there is no robbery conviction. Each element is a separate line of attack — whether a taking actually occurred, whether force or fear accompanied it, and whether the person charged is the person who did it.

What Are the Penalties for Robbery in Florida?

Florida § 812.13 creates three penalty tiers based entirely on whether — and what type of — weapon was involved.

Charge	Degree	Max Prison	Mandatory Minimum
Strong-arm robbery (no weapon)	2nd Degree Felony	15 years	None
Robbery with a weapon (not firearm)	1st Degree Felony	30 years	None
Robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon	1st Degree Felony (Life)	Life	10-20-Life (§ 775.087)
Home Invasion Robbery (§ 812.135)	1st Degree Felony (Life)	Life	10-20-Life if firearm used

Florida’s 10-20-Life law under § 775.087 is the most severe sentencing consequence in robbery cases. Possession of a firearm during a robbery = 10-year mandatory minimum. Discharge of a firearm = 20-year mandatory minimum. Injury or death = 25 years to life mandatory. These minimums are non-negotiable unless the State agrees to drop or modify the firearm allegation. The judge has zero discretion once the firearm element is proven.

What Is the Difference Between Strong-Arm Robbery and Armed Robbery?

Strong-arm robbery under § 812.13(2)(c) involves force or putting the victim in fear without a weapon — a push, a grab, a physical struggle that accompanies a taking. It is a second-degree felony with a 15-year maximum and no mandatory minimum. Armed robbery under § 812.13(2)(a) or (b) involves a weapon — and whether that weapon is a firearm versus another deadly weapon determines whether 10-20-Life applies.

I have tried cases where the prosecution charged armed robbery and the evidence of a weapon was legally insufficient. Winning on the weapon element drops the charge from a life felony with a 10-year mandatory minimum to a second-degree felony with no mandatory minimum — a difference of decades. The weapon question is one of the most consequential factual issues in any robbery case.

Does Florida’s 10-20-Life Law Apply if No One Was Hurt?

Yes — under § 775.087, the 10-year mandatory minimum applies the moment the State proves a firearm was possessed during the robbery, regardless of whether anyone was injured. Injury only matters in determining whether the minimum is 10 years, 20 years, or 25-to-life. A robbery where the defendant merely displayed a firearm and no one was touched still triggers the 10-year floor if convicted. This is why the firearm element must be challenged aggressively from the beginning.

What Are the Best Defenses to a Robbery Charge in Florida?

The strongest defenses attack one or more of the three required elements — the taking, the force, or the identification of the defendant as the person who committed it.

Is Misidentification a Defense to Robbery?

Misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions in the United States, and robbery cases are heavily dependent on eyewitness testimony. Victims in robbery situations experience acute stress, limited observation time, and often have little prior contact with the alleged perpetrator — all of which dramatically reduce identification accuracy. I challenge identifications through cross-examination of eyewitness reliability science, scrutiny of lineup procedures, administrator conduct, and suggestive questioning that may have contaminated the identification before trial.

What If the Force Element Is Weak or Disputed?

If the property was taken through deception, opportunity, or stealth — without force or putting the victim in fear — the charge is theft, not robbery. Under § 812.13, force must occur “in the course of the taking.” If force occurred before or entirely after the taking was complete, the robbery element may not be met. This distinction between robbery and theft can eliminate the “violent felony” classification entirely.

What If the Alleged Weapon Was Not a Real Firearm?

Under § 790.001, a “firearm” must be capable of expelling a projectile by action of an explosive. A replica, toy, BB gun, or imitation firearm does not qualify as a “firearm” for purposes of the 10-20-Life mandatory minimum — though it may still qualify as a “deadly weapon” at a lower sentencing tier. When the actual weapon was never recovered, the State must prove its nature and existence beyond a reasonable doubt. That burden is often harder to meet than prosecutors expect.

Can Constitutional Challenges Suppress Evidence in a Robbery Case?

Yes. Cell phone location data, surveillance footage, co-defendant statements, and evidence from vehicle or property searches must all comply with the Fourth Amendment and Article I, Section 12 of the Florida Constitution. A motion to suppress illegally obtained evidence — GPS data, warrantless cell tower location records, or a consent search that wasn’t truly consensual — can gut the prosecution’s case before trial begins.

How Does Robbery Differ from Home Invasion Robbery and Carjacking?

Florida has separate statutes for robbery-related offenses that carry distinct penalties. Home Invasion Robbery under § 812.135 requires entering a dwelling and committing robbery of the occupants — it is always a first-degree felony punishable by up to life. Carjacking under § 812.133 is the robbery of a motor vehicle — also a first-degree felony with up to life imprisonment, with 10-20-Life applying if a firearm is used. Standard robbery under § 812.13 occurs wherever property is taken from a person — in a parking lot, on the street, or anywhere outside a dwelling.

Frequently Asked Questions — Robbery Defense in Florida

What is the difference between robbery and theft in Florida?

Theft under § 812.014 is taking property without force. Robbery under § 812.13 is taking property through force, violence, assault, or putting the victim in fear during the taking. The force element is what makes robbery a violent felony — with sentencing exposure up to life — while theft without force is a non-violent offense with dramatically lower penalties.

Do I face mandatory prison time for robbery in Florida if no one was hurt?

If a firearm was possessed during the robbery, yes — Florida’s § 775.087 requires a 10-year mandatory minimum regardless of whether anyone was injured. The mandatory minimum increases to 20 years if the firearm was discharged. No injury does not eliminate the mandatory minimum when a firearm is involved.

Can robbery charges be reduced to theft or a lesser offense?

Yes. Armed robbery can be reduced to strong-arm robbery (second-degree felony, 15-year max, no mandatory minimum) if the State’s weapon evidence is weak. Further reduction to grand theft or petit theft is possible when the force element itself is contestable. These reductions happen through plea negotiations when the State recognizes evidentiary weaknesses, or at trial through acquittal on the greater charge.

Is robbery a strike offense in Florida that affects future sentencing?

Yes. Robbery is a qualifying offense under Florida’s Prison Releasee Reoffender (PRR) statute and under the Habitual Violent Felony Offender (HVFO) statute. A prior robbery conviction can result in mandatory sentence enhancements for any subsequent felony, and a second robbery conviction can trigger life mandatory minimums under § 775.084. Prior record has enormous weight on robbery scoresheets.

What should I do immediately after a robbery arrest in Polk County?

Exercise your right to remain silent immediately — do not explain yourself to law enforcement. Robbery investigations move fast: detectives will attempt to obtain a recorded statement, conduct lineups, and gather electronic evidence within hours of arrest. Call a criminal defense attorney before making any statement. The decisions made in the first 24-48 hours after a robbery arrest can determine the trajectory of the entire case.

Strong-Arm Robbery vs. Armed Robbery — Comparison and Sentencing Impact

Factor	Strong-Arm Robbery (§ 812.13(2)(c))	Robbery with Weapon (§ 812.13(2)(b))	Robbery with Firearm (§ 812.13(2)(a))
Level	Second-Degree Felony	First-Degree Felony	First-Degree Felony (Life)
Maximum prison	15 years	30 years	Life
Mandatory minimum	None	None	10 years (§ 775.087)
Weapon required?	No — force or putting in fear only	Yes — deadly weapon other than firearm	Yes — firearm specifically
Scoresheet level	Level 7 (56 points)	Level 8 (74 points)	Level 8 (74 points) + mandatory minimum
Typical prison range (first offense)	Probation to 5+ years depending on score	4-8 years depending on score	10 years minimum by statute

The weapon classification is the most consequential charging decision the prosecutor makes in a robbery case. Whether the weapon was a firearm versus a deadly weapon without firearm capability determines whether the 10-20-Life mandatory minimum applies. I challenge the weapon classification aggressively when the nature of the alleged weapon is disputed — particularly when the weapon was not recovered and must be proven solely by witness testimony.

Purse Snatching and Robbery — Florida’s Expansive View

Florida courts have consistently held that purse snatching — grabbing a bag, purse, or personal item directly from a person’s hands or immediate possession — constitutes robbery under § 812.13, not merely theft. The force used in snatching a purse directly from a person satisfies the force element of robbery, even when the victim did not resist and was not physically injured. This interpretation means what appears to be a minor taking can result in a second-degree felony robbery charge rather than the misdemeanor or felony theft charge many defendants expect.

The distinction in purse snatching cases turns on whether the property was taken from the person’s immediate physical presence with force or putting in fear. If the victim was holding the bag and it was yanked from their grip, that is robbery. Take the same bag off a table or a hook, with no force used against the person, and the charge is theft. The physical interaction with the victim is what drives the robbery classification. I analyze the specific sequence of events in every theft-from-person case to determine whether the force element can be challenged.

10-20-Life and Armed Robbery — Mandatory Sentencing Reality

Armed robbery with a firearm under § 812.13(2)(a) is one of the most severely penalized offenses in Florida’s criminal code, and the interaction with 10-20-Life under § 775.087 makes this charge particularly dangerous even for first-time defendants:

• Firearm possessed during the robbery: 10-year mandatory minimum, with no judicial discretion to go below it — the floor applies even to a first offender who only displayed the weapon.
• Firearm discharged: 20-year mandatory minimum, whether or not the round struck anyone.
• Discharge causing great bodily harm or death: 25 years to life — the highest mandatory minimum in Florida outside capital murder, served with no parole and no early release beyond the 15% gain-time cap.

Because of these mandatory minimums, the firearm allegation must be challenged from the first day of the case. When the alleged firearm was never recovered, I hold the State to its burden of proving the weapon’s existence and nature beyond a reasonable doubt. As covered above, testimony that something “looked like a gun” does not by itself satisfy the § 790.001 definition — and that burden is often harder to carry than prosecutors expect.

Co-Defendant Liability in Florida Robbery Cases

Florida’s principal theory under § 777.011 holds that a person who aids, abets, counsels, hires, or procures another to commit a robbery is equally liable as a principal — meaning equal sentencing exposure to the person who actually used force or displayed the weapon. Co-defendant liability in robbery cases creates situations where a person who served as a driver, a lookout, or who had only minimal participation in the robbery faces the same mandatory minimum as the person who brandished the firearm.

Co-defendant cases require an immediate independent analysis: What did this specific defendant actually do? What can the State prove about their knowledge of and participation in the robbery? Did they have advance knowledge that a weapon would be used? Co-defendant liability for the 10-20-Life mandatory minimum requires proof that the specific defendant knew a firearm would be used — a defendant who participated in a robbery not knowing their co-defendant had a firearm may have a viable argument against the firearm mandatory minimum even if the co-defendant faces it directly. I analyze co-defendant liability and the weapon knowledge issue in every multi-defendant robbery case, because the difference between the firearm and non-firearm theory is a decade of mandatory prison time.

Identification Defense in Robbery Cases — Why It Matters So Much

Because so much of a robbery case rests on identification, it is worth looking past the cross-examination points above to how the State actually assembles its identification — and where each source is vulnerable. Florida courts allow expert testimony on eyewitness reliability precisely because the underlying science is well established.

In Polk County robbery prosecutions, the State typically builds its identification case from: victim in-person or photo lineup identification, surveillance video, cell phone location data, vehicle identification, and co-defendant statements. Each of these has specific vulnerabilities:

• Photo lineups: Florida Statute § 92.70 sets procedural requirements for eyewitness identification in criminal investigations — lineups must be conducted by a neutral administrator who does not know which person is the suspect, presented sequentially (not simultaneously in most agencies), and accompanied by a specific set of instructions. Violations of these requirements can form the basis for a motion to suppress the identification.
• Surveillance video: Video quality, camera angle, lighting, and resolution all affect whether a video clearly identifies a specific person. I engage video forensic experts when needed to analyze whether a surveillance recording reliably identifies the defendant.
• Cell phone location data: Cell tower records place a phone in a geographic area — they do not place a specific person at a specific address. The limitations of historical cell site location information (CSLI) as evidence of presence at a precise location are well-documented. Warrantless CSLI access is also constitutionally problematic after Carpenter v. United States (2018).
• Co-defendant statements: A co-defendant who has made a deal with the prosecution is one of the least reliable witnesses in any criminal case. I cross-examine cooperation witnesses aggressively on their deal terms, prior inconsistent statements, and history of dishonesty.

Related Practice Areas

• Violent Crimes Defense — Overview
• Home Invasion Robbery — § 812.135
• Carjacking Defense — § 812.133
• Burglary Defense — § 810.02
• Aggravated Battery — § 784.045
• Weapons & Firearms Charges