Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

My 17 year old son, clean record/no priors was arrested yesterday for robbery. he snatched a cell phone from a lady while she was talking on the phone and ran. an off duty police officer witnessed the crime. he chased my son and caught him. my son ran again. he chased him again and was arrested. the phone was never recovered. since my son has no priors, can he get probation? what is the minimum sentence he can get. must he go before a grand jury? or should he plea bargain? should he plead guilty and ask for community service and ask to pay a fine? i don't want my son on rikers island or any prison. what should we do?

Asked on 8/06/11, 5:21 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

peter bark bark & karpf

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If he took the phone cleanly from the woman, meaning there was no threat or resistance, taking her by surprise, it may only be a larceny and not a robbery. If some force was used or threatened, it is 3rd degree Robbery, a non-violent felony. There is a good chance that the case could be plea bargained to a YO and probation.

Peter Bark [email protected]

Answered on 8/06/11, 6:07 pm

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