Also known as: stick-up · stickups · robbery · hold-up
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A robbery in which the perpetrator takes personal property from the victim's person or immediate presence by force or intimidation with intent to permanently deprive the owner.
Seth Shapiro grabbed Simon Stern's briefcase from the chair beside him during a heated meeting. When Simon reached for it, Seth shoved him aside with enough force to move him and then threatened harm to Simon's spouse in the lobby below. Seth walked into the adjacent office within the same suite, took additional documents from a drawer while Simon remained nearby, and fled with the property.
Solomon Silver seized a government laptop from clerk Scott Summers at the licensing counter and ran for the exit. As Summers pursued, Silver slammed a metal door on his hand, crushing bones, then pointed a replica pistol at him and warned of shooting if followed. Silver also threatened to void building permits if Summers reported the incident.
Sebastian Santos was acquitted of a stickup at a stadium where the sole disputed issue was whether he was the masked perpetrator. Prosecutors later charged him with a second stickup against a different victim minutes later in the same parking lot using the same disguise and weapon. The prior acquittal on identity precluded the new prosecution.
Sabrina Shah and her accomplice entered a hospital storage room after hours to steal diagnostic devices. When an elderly patient blocked their path, Shah injected him with an unauthorized sedative that caused respiratory arrest and death while they removed the equipment and fled.
Sterling Manufacturing employee Sierra Solutions was convicted of a single stickup involving a small amount of cash taken without injury. The court imposed a life sentence without parole under a recidivist statute. The sentence was later examined for gross disproportionality to the offense and the offender's record.
In 1964, 1966, and 1969 Jerry Helm was convicted in South Dakota of third-degree burglary. In 1972 he was convicted of obtaining money under false pretenses, in 1973 of grand larceny, and in 1975 of third-offense driving while intoxicated. All six offenses were nonviolent and alcohol contributed to each. In 1979 Helm was charged with uttering a no-account check for $100. He told the trial court he had been drinking in Sioux Falls, ended up in Rapid City with more money than he started with, and did not remember the incident, then pleaded guilty. Because he had three prior felony convictions in addition to the principal felony, the South Dakota Circuit Court sentenced him to life imprisonment without possibility of parole under the recidivist statute. The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the sentence in a 3-2 decision. After Helm served two years, he asked the Governor to commute the sentence so he could become eligible for parole after serving three-fourths of a fixed term; the Governor denied the request in May 1981. Helm filed a habeas corpus petition in the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota, which denied relief. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider the Eighth Amendment question.
An informant wearing a concealed transmitter met with Skyline Construction supervisor Simon Stern to discuss proceeds from a recent stickup. Stern made incriminating statements during the conversation. The government later introduced the recording at trial over Stern's objection that the monitoring violated his privacy.
In 2008 defendant William White, leader of the American National Socialist Workers Party, operated the website Overthrow.com. On September 11, 2008, White posted an article titled "Hale Seeks To Have Sentence Overturned" with the sub-headline "Gay Jewish Anti-Racist Led Jury." The post included a photograph of Mark Hoffman, who had served as foreperson on the jury that convicted Matthew Hale in 2004, along with Hoffman's date of birth, address at 6915 Hamilton #A Chicago IL 60645, cell phone number, home phone number, and office number, and described Hoffman as living with his "gay black lover" and cat "homeboy." The posts appeared the same day a Chicago Sun-Times article discussed Hale's post-conviction motion challenging Hoffman's jury service on grounds including Hoffman's sexual orientation and race of his partner. White posted a virtually identical version on the blog section of the site and, after Northwestern University removed Hoffman's photo, posted an update the next day noting the block and repeating the same personal information. The site at the time also displayed links to other articles including one titled "Kill Richard Warman" and a magazine cover image showing crosshairs over Barack Obama's head titled "Kill This Nigger?" Hoffman received a harassing phone call from a Virginia number on September 11, 2008, asking about his jury service, followed by text messages containing offensive content. Hoffman contacted Northwestern security and FBI Agent Sara Lopez. FBI agents later executed search warrants at properties associated with White in Roanoke, Virginia, seizing the server used to run Overthrow.com and confirming through forensic analysis that White created the Hoffman posts. The government charged White with one count of violating 18 U.S.C. § 373 by soliciting or endeavoring to persuade another person to injure Hoffman based on his jury service in the Hale case. A prior district judge dismissed the superseding indictment, the Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded for trial, and an anonymous jury returned a guilty verdict. White moved for judgment of acquittal under Fed. R. Crim. P. 29. At trial the evidence revealed that all of the information in the posts was in the public domain. Former ANSWP members Philip Anderson and Michael Burks testified about the organization's structure, conference calls, and their interactions with White, including White's post-arrest instructions to Anderson to contact other white supremacists to determine whether anyone planned to harm Hoffman. The government introduced dozens of prior Overthrow.com posts in which White had published addresses and expressed violent wishes toward other individuals.
The prosecution must show a taking of another's personal property from the victim's body or immediate presence, accomplished by force or intimidation, with intent to permanently deprive. Force must overcome resistance and threats must create an immediate risk of serious injury. Property taken from an adjacent room in the same suite while the victim remains nearby satisfies the presence requirement.
Supporting sources
…defendant’s constitutional rights were not violated. In Vignera v. New York , the defendant was arrested in connection with a robbery. He was taken to the 17th Detective Squad headquarters in Manhattan where he was interrogated for several hours. He was not advised of his right to counsel. A detective testified that the…
…it enjoyed plenary powers—for instance, over the District of Columbia. Id. , at 426. Thus, whatever effect ordinary murders, or robbery, or gun possession might have on interstate commerce (or on any other subject of federal concern) was irrelevant to the question of congressional power. United States v. Dewitt , 9 Wall.…
…of the possible sentence imposed to serious felonies such as aggravated battery, § 16-5-24, first-degree arson, § 16-7-60, and robbery, § 16-8-40. In this case, however, respondent has not been tried, much less convicted and sentenced. Moreover, respondent has not raised the Eighth Amendment issue below.…
…By the date set for trial, respondent was subject to indictment for three counts of first-degree murder and multiple counts of robbery, kidnaping for ransom, breaking and entering and assault, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit robbery
…curiam ), cert. denied, 430 U. S. 973 (1977). Cf. Dembowski v. State, 251 Ind. 250, 252, 240 N. E. 2d 815, 817 (1968) (armed robbery more serious than robbery
Under the Model Penal Code a person commits stickup if, in the course of committing a theft, the actor inflicts serious bodily injury, threatens immediate serious bodily injury, or commits or threatens a first- or second-degree felony. Conduct during flight after the theft counts as part of the offense. The MPC grades the offense as a second-degree felony unless serious injury or attempted killing occurs, raising it to first degree.
Supporting sources
Collateral estoppel embodied in the Double Jeopardy Clause prevents retrial when an issue of ultimate fact, such as the defendant's identity, has been determined by a valid final judgment. If identity was the only rational issue in the first acquittal, the state cannot retry the defendant for a different victim of the same stickup based on the same factual determination.
Supporting sources
Murder includes a killing committed recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life. Recklessness and indifference are presumed when the actor is engaged in or is an accomplice in the commission of, attempt to commit, or flight after committing robbery. The presumption applies even if the underlying felony is not inherently dangerous in every case.
Supporting sources