Also known as: stick-up · stickups · robbery · hold-up
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see 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.
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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.
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.
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.[^maj-1] In this case, however, respondent has not been tried, much less convicted and sentenced.[^maj-2] 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
…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.
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