Robbery or armed robbery are very serious felony charges. Therefore, contacting a Virginia robbery lawyer can initiate the sense of protection from penalties someone may be facing for theft-related charges. An experienced theft attorney knows that these offenses are punishable by a minimum of five years in prison and up to life in prison, and it is also a crime of violence and a crime of dishonesty. For that reason, it carries a very significant stigma. It definitely stays on a person’s criminal record forever, and it does ever leave it, as opposed to a misdemeanor that stays on a record for 11 years.
It hinders the person’s ability to apply and successfully get certain jobs. It jeopardizes a person’s security clearance or certain types of government jobs. Also, a person spending five years in prison or a significant amount of time in prison would hinder their ability to make a living, to keep certain jobs that they currently hold. Contacting a Virginia robbery lawyer crime may be critical to do as soon as possible because a very significant stigma attached to a theft case can be tough to navigate.
If the facts of the case are severe, meaning, an accuser has obtained an injury or certainly if the victim dies, there could be some civil liability that would come with that. A person could be facing a civil action for damages in order to put the victim whole again. If the alleged victim paid an amount of medical bills, they may seek to file a suit for civil damages. All in all, it is a very significant type of charge and a person should seek an attorney right away and early on in the process.
The defendant should definitely be prepared to explain the key facts about the incident. They should be able to convey what happened in detail and explain the circumstances surrounding it. It is helpful to tell people to write everything down even when they meet with the lawyer. They should be prepared to explain every detail about what happened, who was there, what drove the defendant to do what he did regardless of what actually ended up happening.
The person should also be ready to tell if any weapon or any instrument of violence was used. The defendant should think of some witnesses that would corroborate their side of the story or any damaging witnesses that would say otherwise, as well as physical evidence that could be available, any video or audio that was captured by anybody, and any exchange about the incident that would qualify to get an expert witness.
The defendant should provide information about themselves: what is his background, what does he do for a living, if there are acts in their community, what kinds of volunteering and what they have done, any awards or any outstanding achievements that they were able to accomplish. Those are some of the things that need to be put together and conveyed to the lawyer.
Also, they should be prepared to tell their lawyers if they are suffering from some specific kind of disease, any anxiety or mental disorders that would be contributing to the facts of what happened. All of these things are information that defendants should know about cases and should be prepared to tell their lawyers right away as soon as they get involved in the case.
An attorney can start gathering the evidence that they need, any key witnesses, expert witnesses, any physical evidence that could be out there, a video, an audio, anything that was recorded about the incident, etc. It will helpful to have it early on in the process to be preserved for trial and used for the defendant’s benefit.
Another reason why a person should begin contacting a Virginia robbery lawyer early on in the process is if, at the time they appear in front of the magistrate, the magistrate decides to hold them in custody. If the facts are particularly severe or serious, a magistrate may decide to hold the defendant in custody and not let them out on bail.
If there is a question about whether the defendant is going to appear for trial or if there is a risk to the community or a flight risk, they may have the defendant stay or be in custody. So, in that situation, an attorney’s first order of business is to get this person out on bail and so they can start preparing a defense in the case.
Another reason a defendant should hire a lawyer right away is so that the lawyer can start gathering pieces of evidence on their behalf. This means collecting any physical evidence that out there such as surveillance cameras, any text messages between the people involved in the case. Any witness in the case and any oral testimony that a witness can give are also considered evidence.
A person should consider contacting a Virginia robbery lawyer very early on, even if there is an investigation that is going on before any charges happened. This way, an attorney can get involved with law enforcement, they can communicate with them, and can make sure that the defendant does not hinder their potential defenses.
If the defendant is charged with something, they should definitely hire a lawyer right away as soon as they are served with paperwork. Certainly, if a person is held in custody then they, should be contacting a lawyer to try getting that person out on bond.
The first thing that a lawyer should do is to try to identify the possible witnesses and start contacting them, asking them to stay in town, pending the trial, or at least come in and tell the attorney what they know about the case. That would be something that is beneficial to be done early on before any crucial witness leaves town or gets busy. Contacting a Virginia robbery lawyer right away can benefit someone who is under investigation for suspicion of robbery.
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group
