Second Degree Robbery: NY Penal Law 160.10

Robbery in the Second Degree, New York Penal Law 160.10, is a crime that provides prosecutors with tremendous leverage over the accused. Specifically, the magnitude and consequences of a conviction for Second Degree Robbery gives prosecutors the ability to wield great power over a defendant. Whether you subjectively deserve the full brunt of the criminal justice system, you technically violated NY Penal Law 160.10 but your conduct was not egregious, or the charge is unwarranted, you face the same punishment in each scenario. In fact, only if your criminal lawyers are successful in beating back the charges, mitigating your conduct, or securing your complete exoneration, if you are convicted of Second Degree Robbery know that a judge must, not may, sentence you to prison. Whether your case is pending in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn or elsewhere in New York City or the local or county police in Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Putnam or Orange counties are processing you for court, PL 160.10 is a statutory defined violent crime. With a minimum term of three and one-half years in state prison, as frightening as the prospect of this sentence may be, courts are allowed to send you “upstate” for fifteen years.

• New York Robbery Defense and Criminal Law Information Page
• Robbery in the Third Degree – New York Penal Law 160.05
• Robbery in the First Degree – New York Penal Law 160.15

Robbery in the Second Degree is broken down into numerous subsections. Each of these crimes are as grave as the next but have their own unique elements.

If you forcibly steal property from someone, regardless of what it is, and you are assisted by another person who is present, then you are guilty of Second Degree Robbery pursuant to NY Penal Law 160.10(1). In other words, the sole difference between Robbery in the Third Degree and the Second Degree under this section is that another person, a "lookout," a "moneyman" or another "robber" is present and aiding. Whether you are the principal robber or the accomplice irrespective of which one of you violated the crime “more,” instead of no mandatory prison exposure for a Third Degree Robbery arrest, you and your co-defendant would now face the three and a half year minimum. A word to the wise…Those individuals whom are alleged to have been with you need not be arrested for this charge.

Again, like all forms of Robbery as outlined in New York Penal Law Article 160, Robbery in the Second Degree pursuant to NY Penal Law 160.10(2) also requires a forcible stealing of property from a target or complainant. However, if you or another person involved in the crime causes physical injury, defined as some degree of “substantial pain” and nothing long term or debilitating, to anyone who is not a participant or displays what appears to be a firearm or gun, then your Third Degree Robbery is ratcheted up to Second Degree Robbery. Although the law allows for your culpability if your co-defendant causes the physical injury, unlike subsection one of this crime, the New York Penal Law does not require that an accomplice be present or, for that matter, that he or she be arrested. Along with this increased degree of Robbery to PL 160.10(2), you also face the more serious penalty and punishment of the three and one-half years imprisonment to fifteen years.

It is important to note a few things about subsection two of Robbery in the Second Degree. First, the physical injury need only be a bloody nose, bruise or something as “insignificant” as these nominal damages. All that is required is some form of “substantial pain” or “impairment of physical condition.” Second, the person injured need not be the target of the Robbery. Lastly, yet equally important, it is not a defense to this section to argue that the firearm, gun, revolver, etc., was not loaded or that it was really a ruler or tape measure under your shirt. The prosecution must only establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, of course, that you possessed what appeared to be a firearm.

The third, and last, section of Second Degree Robbery is NY Penal Law 160.10(3). To run afoul of this offense, you need not be aided by one or two other people, brandish a gun, or cause a physical injury. Merely, the property you steal with force must be a vehicle such as any car regardless of his make, model or value.

While there are multiple other subsections of Second Degree Robbery found in New York Penal Law 160.10, remember that the District Attorney where you are prosecuted is not limited to one. He or she can charge you on a felony complaint or in the Grand Jury with as many crimes and subsections that fit into the evidence in their possession. So, if you are with three other people and during the course of a vehicle theft your cohorts beat up the passenger of the car, you could find yourself before a judge charged with NY Penal Law sections 160.10(1), 160.10(2) and 160.10(3).

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Whether it is the NYPD and Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the Dutchess County Sheriff and the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office, or the Westchester County Police and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, there are only a handful of crimes in the New York Penal Law exposing you to what is a tragically long – and life altering – period of time in prison. When your fear is mounting, your thoughts scattered, and your life seemingly spiraling out of control, know that you can count on the New York criminal lawyers and former prosecutors at Saland Law to bring the full force of their knowledge, experience and advocacy to your defense.

Call our Robbery defense lawyers and former Assistant District Attorneys at (212) 312-7129 or contact us online today.