California Penal Code section 212.5 defines first-degree robbery as a robbery committed in one of three settings: inside an inhabited dwelling, against the driver or a passenger of a vehicle used to transport people for hire, or against someone using or just finished using an ATM. A conviction carries three, four, or six years in state prison, rising to three, six, or nine years when the robbery happens inside an inhabited dwelling and the defendant acted together with two or more other people. Because the offense is both a serious and a violent felony, the sentence is only part of the damage.
The Three Situations That Trigger First Degree
Every robbery requires the same core conduct: taking property from another person’s body or immediate presence, against their will, by force or fear.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 211 – Robbery Section 212.5 then sorts those robberies into degrees. Three circumstances push the offense to first degree:2California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 212.5 – First Degree Robbery
- The robbery takes place inside an inhabited dwelling, vessel designed for habitation, floating home, trailer coach, or the inhabited portion of any other building.
- The victim is a driver or passenger of a bus, taxi, cable car, streetcar, or any other vehicle used to transport people for hire.
- The victim is using an ATM, or has just used one and is still in the vicinity.
Nothing about the amount taken or the degree of force changes the degree. Location and victim status do all the work.
What “Inhabited” Covers
A structure is inhabited if someone uses it as a dwelling and is either present or absent but intending to return.3Justia. CALCRIM No. 1602 Robbery Degrees – Penal Code 212.5 A home whose occupants are away for two weeks still counts, because they plan to come back. A building that has been permanently abandoned does not.
Mixed-use buildings qualify in the parts people actually live in. An apartment above a storefront is inhabited; the shop below is not. Vessels, floating homes, and trailer coaches all qualify so long as someone actually lives in them.
Prison Time
The standard sentencing triad for first-degree robbery is three, four, or six years in state prison. The court picks within that range based on aggravating and mitigating factors.4California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 213 – Robbery Punishment
A higher triad of three, six, or nine years applies when the defendant acted in concert with two or more other people and committed the robbery inside an inhabited dwelling, vessel, floating home, trailer coach, or the inhabited portion of another building.4California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 213 – Robbery Punishment A solo home robbery falls under the 3/4/6 triad. A group home-invasion falls under 3/6/9. The “acting in concert” element is the switch between them.
Where no specific fine is set by statute, a felony conviction can also carry a fine of up to $10,000.5California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 672
Enhancements That Stack On Top
The triad is the starting point, not the ceiling. Enhancements add consecutive years, and they apply often in robbery prosecutions.
Firearm Enhancements
Penal Code 12022.53 applies to robbery and adds some of the longest enhancements in California law:6California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 12022.53 – Firearm Enhancement
- Personal use of a firearm: 10 additional consecutive years. The gun need not be loaded or operable.
- Intentional discharge of a firearm: 20 additional consecutive years.
- Discharge causing great bodily injury or death: 25 years to life, served consecutively.
A defendant sentenced to the 6-year upper term for first-degree robbery who personally fired a gun during the offense faces at least 26 years.
Great Bodily Injury
Personally inflicting great bodily injury on someone other than an accomplice adds three consecutive years under Penal Code 12022.7.7California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 12022.7 – Great Bodily Injury Enhancement Great bodily injury means significant or substantial physical injury, beyond trivial or moderate harm.
The 85 Percent Rule
First-degree robbery is a violent felony, which caps good-conduct credits at 15 percent under Penal Code 2933.1.8California Courts. Calculating Custody Credits A convicted person must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for parole. A six-year sentence means roughly five years and one month in custody at a minimum. Non-violent offenses allow much larger credits; this one does not.
A Strike for Life
First-degree robbery is listed as both a serious felony under Penal Code 1192.7 and a violent felony under Penal Code 667.5.9California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1192.7 – Serious Felony10California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 667.5 – Violent Felony That means it counts as a strike under California’s Three Strikes law.
Any later felony conviction with one prior strike is sentenced at double the normal term. A new felony with two or more prior strikes carries an indeterminate life sentence with a minimum term equal to the greatest of three options: triple the normal sentence for the new crime, 25 years, or the ordinary determinate term including enhancements.11California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 667 – Three Strikes A third-strike sentence almost always means at least 25 years to life. The strike stays on the record permanently, so even a minor future felony, including theft, drug possession, or fraud, triggers doubled sentencing.
Probation and Parole
Probation is heavily restricted. Robbery is specifically listed as an offense where probation should not be granted if the defendant was armed with a deadly weapon during the crime or at the time of arrest.12California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1203 – Probation Even unarmed first-degree robbery is treated as a prison case because of the violent felony classification.
After release, parole runs for three years. Conditions are strict and typically include regular check-ins, travel limits, curfews, and no-contact orders. A parole violation can send the person back to custody.
Fines and Victim Restitution
The court must impose a restitution fine between $300 and $10,000 for a felony conviction, and must also order the defendant to pay the victim directly for all economic losses caused by the crime.13California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1202.4 – Victim Restitution Victim restitution covers stolen or damaged property, medical expenses, lost income, and prosecution-related costs. Inability to pay does not reduce the amount owed, and the order is enforceable like a civil judgment long after prison ends.
Collateral Consequences
Lifetime Firearm Ban
A first-degree robbery conviction permanently bars the defendant from owning, buying, receiving, or possessing any firearm. Violating that ban is itself a separate felony.14California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 29800 – Felon Firearm Prohibition
Immigration Consequences
For a non-citizen, a 212.5 conviction can be worse than the prison term. Robbery is widely treated as a crime involving moral turpitude, which is an independent ground for deportation and inadmissibility. Federal immigration law also classifies any crime of violence carrying a prison term of at least one year as an aggravated felony.15Legal Information Institute. 8 USC 1101(a)(43) – Aggravated Felony Definition First-degree robbery involves force and always carries a sentence well above one year, so it falls squarely within that definition. An aggravated felony makes a non-citizen deportable, bars most forms of relief from removal, and permanently prevents reentry. Anyone without citizenship facing a 212.5 charge should consult an immigration attorney at the start of the case so the defense strategy accounts for those consequences.