CHAPTER XV.

 

ROBBERY

 

CONTENTS.

 

SECTION 1. Robbery defined.

2.     How the force of fear must be taken advantage of

3.     Taking by force without intent to steal is not robbery.

4.     Force by imprisonment or duress.

5.     There must be an adequate ground of fear.

6.     What is an adequate ground of fear.

7.     Fear, in what way excited.

8.     Degrees.

9.     Presumption when robber is armed

10.  Punishment for robbery in the first degree.

11.  Punishment for robbery in the second degree.

 

1. Robbery is the stealing of a thing from the person of another or from his custody in his presence, by force or putting him in fear.

 

2. In order to constitute robbery, the force must be used, or time fear excited or taken advantage of, to prevent or overcome resistance, or to prevent or binder the escape of the party robbed, or to prevent the conveying away, securing or guarding the subject of the larceny from being taken, or to induce time party robbed to surrender the same, or to prevent detection of the crime.

 

3. Though the taking be by force, yet if it be not with intent to steal, it is not robbery

 

4. The taking of a thing from another by means of forcibly imprisoning him, or forcibly putting him under personal restraint or duress, until he shall surrender the same is robbery.

 

5. In order to render the taking through fear, where no violence is used, a robbery, it is requisite that the ground of fear should be adequate, and not merely trivial and frivolous.

 

6.  An adequate cause of fear is such as would, under the same circumstances, cause fear in a person of ordinary firmness of like age, sex and state of health, and induce such a person to part with property, to avoid the apprehended injury or danger; or such as the taker of the thing believes, or has reason to believe will cause, and such as does in fact cause, such degree of fear.

 

7. Whether the robber obtains the thing stolen through the influence of fear excited by words, menacing gesture, the presenting a weapon, or other act causing fear, it will equally in either case be robbery.

 

8. Robbery by one armed with a dangerous weapon with intent, if resisted, to kill, maim, wound or inflict other severe corporal injury upon the person robbed; or where, being so armed, the robber, in committing the offense, wounds, or strikes or inflicts other severe injury upon the person robbed, or any other person, is robbery in the first degree; and all other robbery is such in the second degree.

 

9. Any person committing a robbery, being armed with a dangerous weapon, shall be presumed to be so armed with the intent specified in the preceding section.

 

10.  Whoever commits robbery in the first degree, shah be punished by imprisonment at hard labor for life or any number of years, in the discretion of the court.

 

11.  Whoever commits robbery in the second degree, shall be punished by imprisonment at hard labor not more than twenty years.