What’s at stake
Robbery is ordinarily a second-degree felony with a two-to-20-year prison range. Aggravated robbery is first degree, ordinarily five to 99 years or life. A deadly weapon, serious bodily injury or specified circumstances involving an older or disabled person can change the charge. Enhancements can change the punishment range.
What a Texas court looks at
A pretrial hearing might address how a witness identified someone or whether a search was lawful. At trial, the state may call the person reporting the incident, other witnesses and investigators. Ask which facts the prosecution must prove separately for each alleged offense.
What happens next
- Read the charging instrument to identify the alleged threat, injury, taking of property or use of a weapon.
- Reconstruct the sequence across dispatch audio, recordings, eyewitness accounts and medical information. Note the lighting, distances and gaps between observations.
- Counsel can assess identification procedures, the legal basis of a search, and whether the facts support a defense such as self-defense before a hearing or trial.
Timing and deadlines
The availability of witness interviews, surveillance footage, ballistics or injury records can affect the next meaningful hearing. Request updates on which evidence is still outstanding.
Costs and payment
A defense investigator, medical review or identification expert may add expense. Ask what question each expert would answer and what authorization is needed before work begins.
How to prepare
- Identify cameras at nearby businesses and along relevant routes.
- Preserve photos with their original timestamps.
- Record where each witness was standing and what each could see.
How Angel and his team can help
Angel can approach the case as a prosecutor would when deciding what further investigation to request. Was an object actually visible on the available camera angle? Did the first 911 description match the officer’s later account? A working timeline links each claim to its strongest source and identifies missing perspectives.
Speak with the officeQuestions and answers
How is robbery different from theft?
Texas robbery links conduct during a theft to bodily injury or a threat or fear of imminent injury or death under the statute. Counsel can examine exactly when and how the alleged force occurred.
What if the witness only saw me briefly?
Distance, light, description, delay and the way an identification was made can affect its reliability. A lawyer can compare the first description with later identifications and recordings.
What information matters to self-defense?
Explain what you perceived, when the danger arose, what each person did and when the force ended. Texas applies different legal requirements to ordinary force and deadly force.
Can an attempted theft lead to a robbery charge if nothing was taken?
Yes, potentially. Chapter 29 includes conduct during an attempted theft and immediate flight. The state still must prove the required intent and the alleged injury, threat or fear under the statute.
Must a weapon be fired?
Aggravated robbery can involve use or exhibition of a deadly weapon. Counsel can examine what the witness observed, how an object was allegedly used and whether the recording or physical evidence supports the identification.
How is a serious bodily injury assessed?
Texas uses a specific definition that includes substantial risk of death, serious permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of a body part or organ. Medical testimony and follow-up records may help test the exact allegation.
What if I was also injured?
Obtain care and save photographs and treatment records showing the timing and location of your injuries. Tell counsel when each occurred. Those records may help reconstruct the encounter alongside the other evidence.
The video only shows the end. What else might exist?
Give counsel nearby businesses, camera locations and time windows. Other recordings, the first radio dispatch, calls for assistance or witness accounts may capture what happened just outside the frame.
Let’s talk about your next step.
You don’t have to figure it out alone. Talk with Angel’s office about your concerns, upcoming dates and how the team can help.