Boston Armed Robbery Defense Lawyer

Armed robbery cases generally fall into three categories:

• Stranger stick-up cases.
• Store or bank robberies where someone displays or mentions a weapon. In Massachusetts, you do not have to actually have a weapon to be charged with armed robbery. All you have to do is mention that you have a weapon, whether you actually have one or not.
• Robbery in a home, which actually transforms the crime in Massachusetts into “armed home invasion” or “armed burglary.”

Many armed robbery cases are identification cases. In other words, the prosecutor’s key evidence comes from an alleged victim or a witness viewing a photo array or a lineup. In identification cases, there are certain procedural safeguards that have been put in place by both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts to make sure the identification was not unnecessarily suggestive, that the defendant received due process, and that his or her rights were preserved. I am experienced in handling identification cases and have successfully filed and argued motions to suppress identification evidence. A successful motion to suppress identification may leave the state with no case against you, forcing a prosecutor to dismiss the charges. 

An experienced and skillful criminal defense attorney may also seek to suppress evidence that a weapon was involved in the alleged crime.  The police must follow certain procedures under state and federal law when they conduct a search for a weapon.  If the police failed to abide by those procedures, a motion to suppress evidence of a weapon could be successful.  That, in turn, may force the Commonwealth to reduce the charge to unarmed robbery or larceny from a person -- or the Commonwealth may be forced to dismiss the charges altogether. 

Discovery motions are also critical for the defense of armed robbery cases. Early on, it is important to preserve evidence that might be lost, such as tapes from surveillance cameras. An experienced attorney realizes that the preserving evidence can make the difference between winning or losing a case.

The law, of course, is constantly changing in many areas.  For years, prosecutors were able to call on ballistics experts to testify that a spent bullet recovered at a crime scene was fired by a particular firearm. Under a recent U.S. District Court ruling, an expert ballistician may no longer so testify. Now the witness in federal court may only testify that there are markings on a bullet which are similar to those fired by a particular weapon. This of course is less powerful testimony and can be exploited by an experienced criminal defense attorney.  Fingerprint evidence is facing similar legal challenges right now.  In short, if you are charged with the serious crime of armed robbery, you should ensure that your attorney is experienced in these cases, and is up-to-date on recent case law.  If you retain me, you will have that assurance.

Free Initial Consultation: Contact Boston armed robbery defense lawyer David Yannetti.