Is robbery a felony?

Robbery is stealing from a person by force or threat. New York calls it "forcible stealing." California defines it as taking personal property from a person or their immediate presence, against their will, by force or fear.^1,2,3

Texas covers a person who, while committing theft, intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another, or threatens or places another in fear of imminent bodily injury or death. New York requires using or threatening immediate physical force to prevent or overcome resistance, or to make the owner hand over the property.

The difference between robbery and theft is force or fear. Theft only takes property. Robbery takes it from a person while using or threatening force. A weapon is not required.^4,5,6

Pennsylvania counts taking property from a person "by force however slight" as robbery. Florida treats sudden snatching, such as grabbing a purse from a person who becomes aware of it, as robbery even when no force beyond taking the item is used.

"Armed robbery" is robbery with a weapon. States usually treat it as a more serious grade, often called aggravated or first-degree robbery.^3,7,8

Texas and Ohio call it aggravated robbery. North Carolina calls it robbery with firearms or other dangerous weapons.

None of the eight states checked treats robbery as a misdemeanor, even without a weapon. Taking property without force or threat is theft instead, which can be a misdemeanor.^{3,4,5,9,10,11,12,13}

The lowest grade of robbery is a Class G felony in North Carolina, a Class 6 felony in Virginia, a class D felony in New York, a third-degree felony in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and a second-degree felony in Texas.

Texas

Texas: robbery is a second-degree felony. Aggravated robbery, which involves serious bodily injury, a deadly weapon, or an elderly or disabled victim, is a first-degree felony.³

Florida

Florida: robbery is a second-degree felony without a weapon and a first-degree felony if the person carried a firearm, deadly weapon or other weapon. Robbery by sudden snatching is a third-degree felony, or a second-degree felony if the person carried a firearm or other deadly weapon.^6,9

Carrying a firearm or other deadly weapon makes the first-degree felony punishable by a term of years up to life.

California

California: robbery is punished in state prison, making it a felony. First-degree robbery carries 3, 4 or 6 years, or 3, 6 or 9 years if committed with two or more others in an inhabited home. Second-degree robbery carries 2, 3 or 5 years.^2,10,14

Under Penal Code section 17, a felony is a crime punishable by state prison, or by a county jail term under section 1170(h).

New York

New York: robbery in the third degree, forcibly stealing property, is a class D felony. The second degree, with an accomplice present, an injury, an apparent firearm or a stolen motor vehicle, is class C. The first degree, with serious injury or a weapon, is class B.^4,15,16

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania: robbery is a first-degree felony by default, a second-degree felony for bodily injury or threat of bodily injury, and a third-degree felony for taking property from a person by force however slight.⁵

Robbery of a financial institution by demanding money from an employee is a second-degree felony. Robbery where the object is a controlled substance is a first-degree felony.

Ohio

Ohio: robbery is a second-degree felony if the person has a deadly weapon or inflicts, attempts or threatens physical harm. It is a third-degree felony if the person uses or threatens force. Aggravated robbery is a first-degree felony.^7,11

Virginia

Virginia: robbery is a felony in every form. Serious bodily injury or death is a Class 2 felony, a firearm a Class 3, physical force or another deadly weapon a Class 5, and threat or intimidation a Class 6.¹²

North Carolina

North Carolina: robbery with a firearm or other dangerous weapon is a Class D felony. Common-law robbery, without a weapon, is a Class G felony.^8,13

18 U.S.C. § 2113

Bank robbery is a federal crime. Taking money from a bank, credit union or savings and loan by force, violence or intimidation carries up to 20 years in prison. Assaulting someone or endangering a life with a dangerous weapon raises it to up to 25 years.¹⁷

18 U.S.C. § 2119

Federal carjacking, taking a motor vehicle that has moved in interstate commerce by force or intimidation with intent to cause death or serious harm, carries up to 15 years in prison. It is up to 25 years if serious bodily injury results, and up to life in prison, or death, if death results.¹⁸

Even robbery with no weapon and no injury is a felony in the states checked. The grade is usually second or third degree, or the equivalent.^3,5,9,11

Florida makes unarmed robbery a second-degree felony, Texas makes robbery a second-degree felony, Pennsylvania makes taking property by force however slight a third-degree felony, and Ohio makes using or threatening force a third-degree felony.

A weapon raises robbery to a higher felony. It becomes a first-degree felony in Texas (aggravated robbery), Florida (carrying a firearm, deadly weapon or other weapon) and Ohio (aggravated robbery, when the weapon is displayed, brandished or used), and a class B felony in New York.^3,7,9,16

New York also treats displaying what appears to be a firearm as first-degree robbery, though it is a defense that the firearm was not loaded and capable of firing. Virginia grades robbery with a firearm as a Class 3 felony, and North Carolina grades robbery with a firearm or dangerous weapon as a Class D felony.

Injury and the victim's age or disability can raise the grade too. In Texas, causing serious bodily injury, or hurting or threatening a victim who is 65 or older or disabled, makes robbery a first-degree felony. In Virginia, serious bodily injury makes it a Class 2 felony.^3,5,12,16

Pennsylvania makes robbery a first-degree felony when the person inflicts serious bodily injury or threatens immediate serious bodily injury. New York makes causing serious physical injury a first-degree robbery, a class B felony.

Where it happens can matter. In California, robbery in an inhabited home, of a bus or taxi driver, or of a person using an ATM is first-degree robbery.^10,19

California punishes first-degree robbery with 3, 4 or 6 years in state prison, or 3, 6 or 9 years when committed in an inhabited home acting with two or more others. Second-degree robbery carries 2, 3 or 5 years.