Conspiracy, as a crime, has different elements including the agreement between two people and an attempt to commit robbery, which has the elements of the taking of property from another with force or threat of force. Force and threat of force can be defined as beating, striking, suffocation, strangulation, or the threat to do so. Violence is an aggravating factor and could potentially escalate the charges that a person may face. That is why those charged with conspiracy to commit robbery in Virginia should consult an experienced robbery lawyer that can attempt to build a solid case for them.
If the crime was incomplete and the defendant did not commit the robbery, then the person would only have an attempt to commit robbery charge. In other words, an attempt charge generally merges into the completed attempt. It is not a separate charge if the crime was completed. It is difficult to find a scenario in which somebody is charged with both attempt and robbery.
Conspiracy is a separate charge. What a conspiracy tries to get at is the plotting or the agreement to commit a crime between two people or more. It is not just the underlying crime that a person could be charged with, but it is the conspiracy aspect of it, the agreement between two or more people to commit that crime, that is punished. Unlike an attempt crime in which somebody cannot be charged with both an attempt to commit robbery and robbery, somebody could very well be charged with robbery and conspiracy if there is more than one person involved.
Being charged with conspiracy to commit robbery in Virginia and the underlying offense is definitely more common, and the circumstances would be simpler if the defendant has agreed or conspired to commit a crime against another person. If there are two people that thought about breaking into a home or a bank in order to take some property, that would be a scenario in which both of them could be charged with robbery and conspiracy.
They have committed two crimes if the facts do line up. First, they have agreed to commit an act that is unlawful and secondly, they have taken property from a person with force or threat of force. They have committed two separate crimes and can legally and lawfully be charged with both. Conspiracy is a standalone charge that could be sustained aside from everything else. The circumstances again would be more than one person is involved in this and there is an agreement between them to commit that act.
If the underlying offense is the same as the attempted crime, such as an attempt to commit robbery and then robbery, then there is not a scenario in which a person is charged with both things at the same time. There is a scenario an attempt to commit robbery and maybe the underlying crime would be an assault and battery, for instance. That is possible because to have an attempt charge, a person has got to have the same elements of the crime under the attempt and under the completed facts.
If the elements are exactly the same, then at the end of it before a person is charged or found guilty, that attempt is going to have to merge into the completed crime. In a scenario in which the underlying crime has elements that are not shared with the attempted crime, then that is a scenario in which a person is charged with both an attempt and the completed crime. So, a person could be looking at an attempt to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in Virginia, for instance.
More than likely, if a person has more than one type of charge, mitigation might happen if the crime is not very serious and the prosecution is not very set on having the defendant prosecuted. A lot of times there is more than one charge and that opens to some sort of a plea deal. Or, one of those charges are dropped and then the other one is pursued or is plead to, and then a certain punishment is assessed based on that.
This means that there is room for bargaining. That also means that if there is more than one charge in terms of mitigating the case, such as impracticality, this also makes the prosecution want to choose which one they want to proceed with, depending on the available evidence and so on. If an individual has been charged with conspiracy to commit robbery in Virginia and needs help defending themselves from the prosecution, they should consult a qualified robbery attorney that can advocate for them.
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group
