What Is Robbery in Florida? Degrees, Penalties, and Defenses (2026)

Updated October 22, 2026

A robbery case usually turns on two questions the arrest report does not settle: who took the property, and whether force or fear was really part of the taking. I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and I have put both questions to juries across more than 150 jury trials to verdict. Our attorneys defend strong-arm robbery, armed robbery, sudden snatching, and carjacking charges in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties, starting with the identification evidence, the video, and the exact words of the charging document.

What does the State have to prove in a Florida robbery case?

The State must prove a taking, from the person or custody of another, with intent to deprive, accomplished by force, violence, assault, or putting in fear. Section 812.13(1), Florida Statutes, defines robbery as “the taking of money or other property which may be the subject of larceny from the person or custody of another, with intent to either permanently or temporarily deprive the person or the owner of the money or other property, when in the course of the taking there is the use of force, violence, assault, or putting in fear.”

Robbery does not require a face-to-face grab. Property is in a victim’s “custody” when it is under the victim’s control so that the victim could have prevented the taking without the violence or intimidation. In Acosta v. State, 399 So. 3d 1118 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024), the victims had been thrown off a jet ski that was floating away when the defendant took it, and the Third District held that was still a taking from their custody. Our Tampa violent crime lawyer team tests each element separately, because a missing element often turns a robbery into a theft.

When does force turn a theft into a robbery?

Force turns a theft into robbery when the victim resists and the offender overcomes that resistance. In Robinson v. State, 692 So. 2d 883 (Fla. 1997), the Florida Supreme Court held that “the perpetrator must employ more than the force necessary to remove the property from the person. Rather, there must be resistance by the victim that is overcome by the physical force of the offender.” A snatching without that kind of resistance “amounts to theft rather than robbery.”

Timing matters too. Under section 812.13(3)(b), force counts if it happens “either prior to, contemporaneous with, or subsequent to the taking of the property and if it and the act of taking constitute a continuous series of acts or events.” Robinson recognized that the 1987 amendment adopting this language replaced the older rule that force had to come before or during the taking. Courts analyze an “afterthought” argument “in light of the entire circumstances of the incident,” as the Third District put it in Acosta. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm look closely at the sequence, because force that comes after a clean break, or that was an afterthought unrelated to the taking, can defeat the robbery charge.

What are the degrees and penalties for robbery in Florida?

The degree depends on what the offender carried, not what the offender showed or used. Section 812.13(2) uses the word “carried,” so the State does not have to prove the weapon was displayed.

The prison maximums come from section 775.082, Florida Statutes, and the fines from section 775.083, Florida Statutes. Because carrying a weapon is already an element of armed robbery, the general weapon reclassification in section 775.087(1) does not raise the degree again.

Armed robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon carries a possible life sentence. I meet the Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.112 qualifications to defend capital cases, and our attorneys prepare life-felony robbery cases with the same trial-level investigation.

How is sudden snatching different from robbery?

Sudden snatching is a separate, lesser crime for grabbing property from a person who becomes aware of the taking, with no force beyond what the grab requires. Under section 812.131, Florida Statutes, the State does not have to show that the offender “used any amount of force beyond that effort necessary to obtain possession,” that the victim resisted, or that the victim was injured. The Legislature created it in 1999, after Robinson.

Sudden snatching is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years) when no weapon is carried. It becomes a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) when the offender carried a firearm or other deadly weapon. When a robbery charge rests on a quick grab of a phone, purse, or chain, our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm ask whether the facts fit sudden snatching or theft instead.

What is carjacking in Florida?

Carjacking is robbery of a motor vehicle. Section 812.133, Florida Statutes, covers taking “a motor vehicle which may be the subject of larceny from the person or custody of another,” with intent to deprive, “when in the course of the taking there is the use of force, violence, assault, or putting in fear.”

Carjacking is a first-degree felony even when no weapon is involved, so it is charged one degree above unarmed robbery. The Brancato Law Firm reviews whether the vehicle was truly in the driver’s custody and whether the force came during the taking or in a separate event.

How does Florida’s 10-20-Life law apply to robbery?

Robbery and attempted robbery are on the 10-20-Life list. Under section 775.087(2)(a), Florida Statutes, a person convicted of robbery who “actually possessed a ‘firearm’ or ‘destructive device'” faces a 10-year mandatory minimum. Discharging the firearm raises the minimum to 20 years, and discharging it and causing “death or great bodily harm” means a minimum of 25 years up to life.

Possession under the statute means “carrying it on the person,” or having the firearm “within immediate physical reach with ready access with the intent to use the firearm during the commission of the offense.” The court cannot withhold adjudication or suspend the sentence, and there is no gain-time or early release before the minimum is served. For the full statute, see our guide to Florida’s 10-20-Life law.

What changed about 10-20-Life sentences in 2025?

The 2025 law kept consecutive minimums mandatory when a person is convicted of several qualifying felonies, and gave judges discretion when a qualifying felony is paired with an unlisted one. Chapter 2025-81, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 2025, rewrote the consecutive-sentence rules in section 775.087(2). The earlier 2023 text said the court “shall impose any term of imprisonment provided for in this subsection consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed for any other felony offense.”

Current paragraph (d) requires the court to impose the minimum “for each qualifying felony offense for which the person is convicted,” and, when there are several, to “impose any such terms of imprisonment consecutively.” New paragraph (e) says that when a qualifying felony is committed “in conjunction with any other felony offense not enumerated,” the court “may impose” the minimum consecutively. Two counts of robbery with a firearm, one for each victim, still mean two minimums served back to back, while a robbery count paired with an unlisted felony leaves the judge a choice. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm check the offense date and the count structure on every case, because they can decide whether a client faces 10 years or 20.

Is a BB gun a deadly weapon in a Florida robbery?

It can be, and the jury decides. In Dale v. State, 703 So. 2d 1045 (Fla. 1997), the defendant said “I have a gun,” and the gun later recovered was a working gas-operated BB or pellet gun that resembled a 9 mm Beretta. The Florida Supreme Court held that whether a BB or pellet gun is a deadly weapon, meaning whether it is “likely to produce death or great bodily injury,” is “a factual question to be answered by the jury in each case.” The Court added that the gun being recovered without BBs, pellets, or a gas cartridge “is not dispositive.”

The victim’s belief about whether the gun was loaded is not the test. The Court in Dale expressly did not decide whether a BB gun is a firearm. Under section 790.001(9), Florida Statutes, a firearm is a weapon that will, is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile “by the action of an explosive.” That definition matters because the 10-20-Life minimums require a firearm. When the object is a BB gun, a replica, or a stun gun, our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm challenge which category the State can prove.

Does wearing a mask make a robbery more serious?

Sometimes. Under section 775.0845, Florida Statutes, an offense is reclassified to the next higher degree if the offender “was wearing a hood, mask, or other device that concealed his or her identity.” A third-degree felony becomes a second-degree felony, and a second-degree felony becomes a first-degree felony.

The statute has no step above a first-degree felony. A mask raises strong-arm robbery from a second-degree to a first-degree felony and raises sudden snatching by one degree, but it cannot raise robbery with a weapon or robbery with a firearm, which are already first-degree felonies. The reclassified offense also ranks one level higher on the scoresheet. The Brancato Law Firm checks whether the State can prove the face covering actually concealed identity, which is the statute’s own requirement.

Can a shoplifting arrest become a robbery charge?

Yes. When force or fear enters a shoplifting incident, the State may charge robbery. In Atmore v. State, No. 2D2024-0584 (Fla. 2d DCA Aug. 13, 2025), a Hillsborough County case, a woman shoplifting at a Sunglass Hut brandished what appeared to be a stun gun when the manager told her to stop, kept taking merchandise, and fled. She was convicted of robbery with a weapon. The Second District held she was entitled to an instruction on resisting a merchant as a lesser offense, though it found the error harmless.

Lesser offenses decide many robbery trials. In J.M. v. State, No. 2D2022-3344 (Fla. 2d DCA Jan. 31, 2025), another Hillsborough case, the trial court found the State could not prove intent to deprive in a robbery charge against a juvenile and instead found aggravated assault. The Second District reversed because the petition never alleged an assault with the weapon, and convicting on an uncharged lesser was fundamental error. Our post on how to fight a theft charge in Florida covers retail theft and resisting a merchant.

How many robbery arrests happen in Hillsborough County?

Fewer than a decade ago. In 2025, Hillsborough County recorded 441 robbery arrests, according to FDLE arrest data published by Florida Health CHARTS, down from 757 in 2016, a 41.7% drop. Florida recorded 6,462 robbery arrests in 2025. These figures count arrest events, not reported robberies, and they leave out cases begun by notice to appear or sworn complaint without a physical arrest.

Fewer arrests do not mean lighter cases. Robbery charges in Hillsborough County are filed by the State Attorney’s Office for the 13th Judicial Circuit, and a robbery arrest means a first appearance within 24 hours, usually from the Orient Road Jail. Robbery is a “dangerous crime” for bond purposes, so the judge cannot grant nonmonetary release at first appearance, as our guide to bond hearings in Tampa explains. Our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorney team prepares for that hearing from the first call.

How do our attorneys defend a robbery charge?

We start with the State’s weakest element, which is often identification. Our attorneys work through five questions in every robbery case:

1. Is the identification reliable? The National Research Council’s report Identifying the Culprit: Assessing Eyewitness Identification (2014) found that memory is “highly malleable and continuously evolving” and that witness confidence “can be powerfully swayed by many factors.” Florida’s section 92.70, Florida Statutes, requires lineups to be run by an independent administrator with set instructions, and noncompliance can support a motion to suppress and must be explained to the jury.
2. Does circumstantial evidence really point to the client? In Young v. State, No. 2D2025-0042 (Fla. 2d DCA July 10, 2026), a Hillsborough case, the Second District affirmed the convictions but held that “the prohibition against pyramiding inferences remains a separate and distinct evidentiary principle.” A jury cannot “draw an inference from an inference.”
3. Was there force or fear during the taking? If not, the charge may be theft or sudden snatching under Robinson.
4. What was carried? The weapon category sets the degree and decides whether 10-20-Life applies.
5. What does the charging document allege? Under J.M., the lesser offenses available at trial depend on what the State charged.

Repeat-offender laws raise the stakes. Under section 775.082(9), robbery, carjacking, and home-invasion robbery committed within 3 years of release from prison qualify for prison releasee reoffender sentencing, which means life for a felony punishable by life and 100 percent of the sentence served. Our posts on prison releasee reoffender sentencing and how to defend against an armed robbery charge in Florida go further on those cases.

Real results in robbery cases

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. More results are on our case results page.

Frequently asked questions about robbery charges in Florida

Can robbery charges be dropped in Florida?

Yes. Robbery charges can be dropped or reduced when the identification is unreliable, when the evidence shows no force or fear during the taking, or when the State cannot prove the weapon it charged. The Brancato Law Firm obtained a robbery dismissal for a client in November 2025, and we raise each of these issues with the prosecutor early.

Can I be charged with armed robbery if I never showed a weapon?

Yes. Section 812.13(2) turns on whether the offender “carried” a weapon, so display is not required. The Brancato Law Firm tests how the State intends to prove the weapon existed, as described on our Tampa violent crime defense page.

What is the difference between robbery and theft in Florida?

Robbery requires force, violence, assault, or putting in fear during the taking, and theft does not. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm use the Robinson resistance rule to argue for theft when a case involved a grab without a struggle, and our guide to theft charges in Florida covers the theft penalties.

Does 10-20-Life apply to strong-arm robbery?

No. The 10-20-Life minimums apply only when the State proves actual possession of a firearm or destructive device, so a robbery with no gun does not trigger them. The Brancato Law Firm reviews the firearm evidence closely, because a replica or BB gun may not meet the statutory definition.

Should I talk to a detective who calls about a robbery?

No, not before speaking with a lawyer, because anything you tell a detective can be used to build the case, including an honest mistake about a time or place. The Brancato Law Firm offers representation before charges are filed and can speak with the detective for you.

Talk to a Tampa robbery defense attorney now

Witness memories change and store video is overwritten within days, so the first week after a robbery arrest matters most. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, will secure the video, test the identification, and prepare for the first appearance and bond hearing. Call (813) 727-7159 for a free, confidential consultation. You can call us at any hour, and our office is two blocks from the courthouse. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. Read about our Spanish and Haitian Creole criminal defense services.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Tampa Violent Crime Lawyer page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.

620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 727-7159

Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.