Robbery Charge Lawyers in Fort Lee, New Jersey

Need Lawyer for Robbery Case in Bergen County Court? Contact Us Now

A recent client of our criminal defense firm was charged with Robbery after a person claimed that our client and two other people had beaten him and stolen his money. Our client had just given this person a ride in his car, and was adamant that he had not been involved in any robbery or assault. If convicted of the charges he faced, our client could have faced up to 15 years in a New Jersey state prison.

In New Jersey, Robbery is a second-degree criminal offense that carries a sentence of 5-10 years in prison and fines of up to $150,000. Certain circumstances can raise the charge to a first degree offense, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and fines up of to $200,000. The charge also falls under the No Early Release Act, which requires that 85% of any prison sentence be served before a person can be released on parole. If a person is convicted and sentenced to 10 years, it will be at least 8 ½ years before they can get out of prison.

Enter Appearance, Not Guity Plea, Request Evidence from Prosecutor

Once the client retained the Tormey Law Firm to represent him, we entered our notice of appearance with the court and a “not guilty” plea. We also sent in a discovery request to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s office requesting all of the discovery evidence in the case that the State possesses and intends to rely upon when they try to prove the charges against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt.

After the first appearance is waived, the case is usually listed for a pre-indictment conference before the State proceeds to the grand jury to try to get an indictment. When we appeared in court for the pre-indictment conference, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s office offered our client a plea of three (3) years in New Jersey state prison, 85% of the term must be served before becoming eligible for parole. Since our client was innocent, we rejected the plea offer and the case was marked for the grand jury to be presented for an indictment.

Based on issues with the evidence and inconsistent statements from the alleged victim, our firm was able to convince the prosecutor not to present the case to the grand jury for an indictment but instead downgrade and remand the charges back to Municipal Court. The case was remanded back to the Fort Lee Municipal Court for disposition. To get a downgrade from a second degree robbery punishable by 10 years in prison to a disorderly person (misdemeanor) his was a tremendous result and great success for our client and for the firm. However, through further appearances at the municipal court, we were able to get the entire case dismissed following conversations with the prosecutor. In the end, our client who was looking at the possibility of decades in prison walked away from the case with no record and an automatic expungement of his arrest.

Charged with Robbery in Fort Lee, Now What?

Any criminal charge is serious, and many offenses carry incredibly harsh penalties. Any person charged with a criminal offense should immediately consult with a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible in order to preserve their rights. Call the Tormey Law Firm today for a free consultation at 201-556-1570.