10.5.4.1: Robbery Attendant Circumstances — Read

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Another difference between robbery and larceny or extortion is the attendant circumstances requirement(s).

Robbery requires the same attendant circumstance required for both larceny and extortion—that the property taken belongs to another. It also has the same attendant circumstance as larceny—that the defendant accomplish the taking against the victim’s will and without consent. However, robbery has one additional attendant circumstance, which is that the property be taken from the victim’s person or presence (Cal. Penal Code § 211). The property does not need to be in the actual physical possession of the victim, as long as it is under the victim’s control (Jones v. State, 2011). Thus if the victim could have prevented the taking if not for the force, violence, or threat posed by the defendant, this attendant circumstance is present (Jones v. State, 2011).

Example of Robbery Attendant Circumstances

Review the example given in “Example of Robbery Act” with Rodney and Lindsey. In this example, Rodney tells Lindsey he will kill her if she doesn’t write him a check for fifteen thousand dollars. Change this example so that Rodney knows Lindsey has recently withdrawn fifteen thousand dollars in cash from the bank. Rodney demands the cash, tells Lindsey he will kill her if she doesn’t give it to him, and gestures toward a bulge in his front jacket pocket that appears to be a weapon. Lindsey tells Rodney, “The money is in my purse, but if you take it, you will be ruining my life!” and points to her purse, which is on the kitchen table a few feet away. Rodney walks over to the table, opens Lindsey’s purse, and removes a large envelope stuffed with bills. In this scenario, the attendant circumstances for robbery appear to be present. Rodney took the property of another without consent. Although the money was not on Lindsey’s person, it was in her presence and subject to her control. If Rodney had not threatened Lindsey’s life, she could have prevented the taking. Thus Rodney has most likely committed robbery and is subject to prosecution for and conviction of this offense.

This page titled 10.5.4.1: Robbery Attendant Circumstances was last modified on Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:24:35 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Mark C Fields and Carmyn A. Radetic-Fields.

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