Florida Robbery Charges, Penalties, and Defenses

Florida robbery charges are always felonies, and the prison exposure runs from five years at the low end to life imprisonment when a firearm or deadly weapon is involved. Where a specific case lands on that scale depends on three things: whether a weapon was used, what kind of weapon it was, and the setting of the taking (a person on the street, a vehicle, or a home). A firearm in particular triggers mandatory minimums that the sentencing judge cannot go below.

What Separates Robbery From Theft

Robbery under Florida law is taking money or property from another person, or from their immediate control, with intent to deprive them of it, when force, violence, or the threat of harm is used during the taking.¹ The force element is the whole difference. Shoplifting a jacket off a rack is theft. Shoving someone to pull the jacket off their body is robbery.

Intent to keep the property permanently is not required. Intending to deprive the owner even temporarily is enough.¹

Charge Levels and Prison Time

Strong-Arm Robbery

When no weapon is used and the offender relies on physical force or threats alone, the charge is often called strong-arm robbery. It is a second-degree felony carrying up to 15 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.¹² This is the least serious robbery in the statute, and it still exposes a defendant to 15 years.

Armed Robbery

Carrying a weapon during the robbery moves the charge to a first-degree felony, but the ceiling depends on the type of weapon. A firearm or deadly weapon capable of causing death raises the maximum to life in prison. Any other weapon keeps it a first-degree felony but caps the sentence at 30 years.¹² The fine can reach $10,000.³

Robbery by Sudden Snatching

Florida carves out a separate offense for grabbing property directly off a victim’s person when force beyond what was needed for the grab was not used. The classic example is swiping a phone from someone’s hand on the sidewalk. The state does not have to prove extra force or that the victim resisted or was injured, only that the victim was or became aware of the taking.⁴

Without a firearm or deadly weapon, sudden snatching is a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. With a firearm or deadly weapon, it becomes a second-degree felony with a 15-year maximum.⁴

Carjacking

Carjacking is a robbery of a motor vehicle: taking a vehicle from someone’s person or immediate control by force, violence, or threat.⁵ The victim does not have to be sitting in the car. Standing next to it with keys in hand is enough.

Carjacking is always a first-degree felony. Without a weapon, the maximum is 30 years. With a firearm or deadly weapon, the maximum is life.⁵

Home Invasion Robbery

Home invasion robbery is entering a dwelling with intent to commit a robbery inside and then carrying it out against the occupants. It is always a first-degree felony. Without a weapon or with a non-lethal weapon, the maximum is 30 years. With a firearm or deadly weapon, the maximum is life.⁶

Mandatory Minimums When a Firearm Is Involved

Any robbery, carjacking, or home invasion robbery involving a firearm triggers Florida’s 10-20-Life sentencing law. These are mandatory minimums. The judge has no discretion to sentence below them.⁷

Actually possessing a firearm during the robbery: 10-year mandatory minimum.
Discharging the firearm during the robbery: 20-year mandatory minimum.
Discharging the firearm and causing death or great bodily harm: minimum of 25 years, up to life.⁷

Actual possession is the standard, so whether the firearm was pointed at anyone or ever came out into view does not matter. Carrying it in a waistband during the offense meets the possession element and puts the 10-year floor in play.

Attempted Robbery

Failing to complete the taking does not defeat the charge. Florida treats an attempted felony as its own offense, typically one degree below the completed crime.⁸ In practical terms:

Attempted strong-arm robbery drops from a second-degree to a third-degree felony (up to 5 years).
Attempted armed robbery drops to a second-degree felony (up to 15 years).
Attempted armed robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon drops to a second-degree felony (up to 15 years).⁸

The degree reduction does not eliminate the 10-20-Life minimums. An attempted robbery with a firearm still carries the 10-year mandatory floor.⁷

Prior Prison Time in the Last Three Years

If the robbery happens within three years of release from a state or federal correctional facility, the prosecutor can pursue sentencing under Florida’s Prison Releasee Reoffender Act. That designation locks in the maximum sentence for the felony degree of conviction: life for a life felony, 30 years for a first-degree felony, 15 years for a second-degree felony.⁹

The bite is not just the length. A releasee reoffender sentence must be served at 100 percent. No parole, no gain time, no early release.⁹ A 15-year PRR sentence is 15 actual years.

Restitution on Top of the Prison Sentence

A robbery conviction almost always includes a restitution order. Florida law directs judges to order restitution for any damage or loss the offense caused unless there are clear and compelling reasons not to. When the victim was injured, restitution covers medical bills, psychiatric and psychological care, physical therapy, and lost wages. When property was taken or damaged, the court uses fair market value.¹⁰

Defenses Worth Weighing

The state has to prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt: the taking, the intent, and the force. Weakness in any of them opens room to fight the charge.

No force or threat. If the evidence does not show force, violence, or intimidation, the correct charge is theft, not robbery. That distinction can move an offense from a felony floor to a possible misdemeanor.
Claim of right. A genuine, good-faith belief that the property was yours undermines the intent element. Reclaiming your own laptop from someone who refused to give it back is not robbery.
Mistaken identity. Fast, high-stress encounters produce identification errors. Alibi evidence, missing forensic links, and surveillance video that contradicts the ID can all challenge the state’s case.
Afterthought. If a fight happened for reasons unrelated to property and the decision to take something came only after the violence ended, the state may not be able to tie the force to the taking as a single continuous event.

Non-Citizens Face Deportation on Top of Everything Else

For anyone who is not a U.S. citizen, a robbery conviction in Florida carries an immigration consequence that runs parallel to the criminal sentence. Federal law classifies theft offenses carrying a possible prison sentence of at least one year as aggravated felonies.¹¹ Every form of robbery in Florida clears that bar, since even sudden snatching without a weapon (the lowest classification) carries up to five years. An aggravated felony conviction makes a non-citizen deportable, cuts off most forms of relief from removal, and can permanently bar re-entry to the United States.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 812.13 – Robbery
2
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 775.082 – Penalties, Applicability of Sentencing Structures, Mandatory Minimum Sentences
3
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 775.083 – Fines
4
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 812.131 – Robbery by Sudden Snatching
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 812.133 – Carjacking
6
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 812.135 – Home-Invasion Robbery
7
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 775.087 – Possession or Use of Weapon, Aggravated Battery, Felony Reclassification, Minimum Sentence
8
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 777.04 – Attempts, Solicitation, and Conspiracy
9
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 775.082 – Penalties, Applicability of Sentencing Structures, Mandatory Minimum Sentences
10
FindLaw. Florida Statutes 775.089 – Restitution
11
Legal Information Institute. 8 USC 1101(a)(43) – Aggravated Felony Definition