Robbery: Elements, 2nd vs 1st Degree Escalation (2C:15-1)

Robbery Defined — 2C:15-1(a)

Robbery is theft elevated by violence. Under 2C:15-1(a), a person commits robbery who, in the course of committing a theft, either:

1. Inflicts bodily injury or uses force upon another; OR
2. Threatens another with or purposely puts another in fear of immediate bodily injury; OR
3. Commits or threatens immediately to commit any first- or second-degree crime.

The required elements are:

1. Theft — the defendant committed or was in the course of committing a theft.
2. Force or threat — during the course of the theft, the defendant used force, threatened bodily injury, or committed/threatened a 1st or 2nd-degree crime.

Robbery is sometimes called 'theft plus force' — the underlying theft is converted to robbery by the addition of violence or threat of violence. A pickpocket who quietly lifts a wallet commits theft; a mugger who shoves the victim to take the wallet commits robbery.

The 'Course of Committing a Theft' Window — 2C:15-1(a)

The phrase 'in the course of committing a theft' is a defined window, not a vague phrase. It covers the period from the first act directed toward taking the property through the defendant's flight immediately afterward.

Practical consequences:

• Force used during the taking itself is robbery.
• Force used during the immediate flight after the taking is still robbery — a robber who shoves a pursuing officer while fleeing has used force in the course of the theft.
• Force used after flight has ended is not part of the robbery. If the robber is caught days later and punches an officer in the booking room, that punch is a separate assault, not part of the robbery.

This window is a frequent LEE question. Watch for fact patterns where the force occurs 'just as the defendant turned to run' or 'during the struggle to get away' — those are still inside the robbery window.

Grading — 2C:15-1(b)

2nd-Degree Robbery (5-10 years) — The Baseline

Robbery is a 2nd-degree crime by default. If the defendant commits robbery as defined above (theft + force or threat), and none of the 1st-degree escalation factors apply, the grading is 2nd degree. This is the most common robbery grade and the answer the LEE expects unless a 1st-degree trigger is present.

1st-Degree Robbery (10-30 years) — The Escalation Factors

Robbery escalates to 1st degree if, in the course of the robbery, the defendant does any of the following (2C:15-1(b)):

1. Attempts to kill anyone; OR
2. Purposely or knowingly inflicts, or attempts to inflict, serious bodily injury upon anyone; OR
3. Is armed with, or uses or threatens the immediate use of, a deadly weapon.

Each factor is a separate path to 1st degree:

• Attempt to kill — The target need not be the robbery victim; it could be a bystander or an intervening officer.
• Serious bodily injury, purposely or knowingly — Note the mens rea requirement: purposeful or knowing. Reckless infliction of serious bodily injury during a robbery is 2nd-degree, not 1st-degree — the statute specifically requires the higher mental state for this escalation. A robber who stabs a victim in the chest, knowingly causing a wound creating a substantial risk of death, satisfies this factor.
• Deadly weapon — The defendant is armed with, uses, or threatens the immediate use of a deadly weapon during the robbery. Mere possession in a pocket with no use or threat can still qualify as 'armed with.' A robber who carries but never displays a loaded handgun is 'armed with' a deadly weapon.

Graves Act Mandatory Minimums — 2C:43-6

When a robbery is committed with a firearm, the Graves Act imposes a mandatory minimum sentence served without parole:

• 1st-degree robbery with a firearm — 5 years without parole.
• 2nd-degree robbery with a firearm — 3 years without parole.

The Graves Act applies specifically to firearms — a robbery committed with a knife does not trigger the Graves Act mandatory minimum (though it still triggers the 1st-degree escalation for 'deadly weapon' under 2C:15-1(b)). The firearm-specific mandatory minimum is a LEE testing point.

Robbery vs Theft: The Force Line

If no force or threat of force occurs during the theft, the offense is theft (graded by dollar amount under 2C:20-2), not robbery. The classic examples:

• Snatch theft — quickly grabbing a purse from a shoulder without resistance: many NJ courts treat this as theft, not robbery, because there was no force upon the person.
• Force from behind — shoving the victim to grab the phone: robbery.
• Threat display — 'Give me your wallet or I'll hurt you': robbery, even if no weapon is shown.

The line turns on whether the defendant used force upon, or placed in fear, the victim. Mere stealth does not create robbery. Robbery also merges the underlying theft — the defendant is sentenced only for the robbery, not separately for larceny and robbery.

Worked Example

A defendant enters a convenience store, points a loaded handgun at the cashier, and demands cash. The cashier hands over $300. The defendant flees. Grading: the defendant used and was armed with a deadly weapon (the handgun) and threatened immediate use — 1st-degree robbery, 10-30 years. The Graves Act applies because a firearm was used: 5-year mandatory minimum without parole. The $300 theft merges into the robbery and is not separately graded.