Property rights benefit from strong protection under the law. If one person intentionally misappropriates capital or assets that belong to another party, the state can prosecute that person. The law in Ohio criminalizes many different types of theft.
State statutes criminalize shoplifting and embezzlement. People can even face criminal charges for possessing property stolen by someone else. Certain types of theft can result in more significant charges and penalties. For example, robbery is one of the more serious theft offenses regularly prosecuted in Ohio. Robbery is a separate charge from basic theft that carries harsher penalties and more social stigma.
What differentiates robbery from a basic theft offense under Ohio state statutes?
Robbery is a violent crime
The main difference between robbery and theft is that robbery involves interpersonal interactions and the threat of violence. Theft in general involves the unauthorized taking of another party’s property, often without their immediate knowledge.
Robbery might involve the use of a deadly weapon. People may brandish a weapon or insist that they have one in their possession to intimidate others. They may actually use the weapon to injure or frighten others by discharging the weapon or using it to cause minor injuries. A theft that occurs while an individual is in possession of a potentially deadly weapon is likely to result in robbery charges.
However, a weapon isn’t inherently necessary for a theft offense to constitute robbery. The use of physical force or the threat of manual violence can be enough to justify robbery charges as well. People can cause life-altering or fatal injuries with their bare hands. A conviction for a robbery offense not only results in criminal penalties but also in a record that could hold an individual back indefinitely.
Those who use force or threaten to use force to rob another person or a business could face third-degree felony charges. Those who possess a deadly weapon during a robbery could face second-degree felony charges. If people inflict serious bodily injuries on others or intentionally display a deadly weapon during a robbery, the state could pursue aggravated robbery charges, which are considered first-degree felony offenses.
Those accused of robbery or other Ohio theft offenses may need help looking into different defense strategies, and that’s okay. Responding assertively to pending robbery charges can help people limit the long-term consequences of the accusations they’re facing.