Legal Question in Criminal Law in Iowa

Re: Aggravated Robbery

Iowa does not have an aggravated robbery statute by that name.

Under Iowa law robbery is committed when a person with the intent to commit theft assaults a person or threatens immediate serious injury or threatens to commit an immediate forcible felony.

Robbery in the 1st degree exists when the robber inflicts or attempts to inflict a serious injury or is armed with a dangerous weapon. All other robbery is second degree.

So, to answer your question the mere fact that the robber is armed with a dangerous weapon, i.e., a knife or firearm, makes the offense 1st degree robbery which is a B felony under Iowa law and it matters not whether the weapon is displayed. However, the presence of a weapon is required and a threat to use a nonexistent weapon would probably not be enough to constitute 1st degree robbery.