Irvine, Orange County - Two men suspected of robbing a Craigslist seller at an Irvine park were arrested Wednesday in Costa Mesa.
According to Irvine Police a man selling a laptop on Craigslist agreed to meet the two suspects who posed as potential buyers at an Irvine park, and during the meeting one of the men pulled out what the seller thought looked like a gun.
The suspect then demanded the seller hand him the laptop, and after handing over the laptop he ran to a car driven by the other suspect, at which point the two drove off, according to investigators.
Robbery is always charged as a felony and if convicted the suspects could face time in prison, says Irvine criminal attorney Michael L. Guisti.
Many people think robbery, burglary and shoplifting are all the same theft crimes, but they're very different, separate crimes, says Guisti.
In a sense robbery is when you take a person's property from their body or immediate possession accomplished by force or fear, explains Guisti.
In this case a professional defense attorney could argue to reduce charges to the lesser second-degree robbery charges, says Guisti.
First degree robbery is the more serious offense, which is when a suspect robs people at their homes, robs a commercial building, robs people who just used an ATM, or robs "money trucks," and second degree robbery is when a suspect commits something like mugging or stealing a purse off a woman, explains Guisti.
In this case there is debate whether this Craigslist crime is really nothing more than a mugging, but the district attorney and prosecutors could argue it's first-degree robbery, because it was planned, says Guisti, and this is why you need a defense attorney by your side.
The laptop was sold by the suspects to a buyer in Yorba Linda, but was recovered by police and returned to the victim, and the person in Yorba Linda won't face receiving stolen property charges, according to police.
Robbery is a serious theft crime that can result in many years in prison and ruin your life, and that is why you need to call our expert Orange County theft crimes attorneys at the Law Offices of Michael L. Guisti.
Our legal experts have well over a decade of successful experience winning very difficult criminal cases for our clients in the courts of Southern California, and so please, call us now.
