Home-invasion robbery means "any robbery that occurs when the offender
enters a dwelling with the intent to commit a robbery, and does commit
a robbery of the occupants therein," as defined under Florida law.
A home-invasion robbery is not the same as a burglary. A burglary is a
crime against property. A robbery is always a crime committed directly
against a person.
Home-invasion robberies are very risky crimes, considering the fact that
so many Florida residents keep guns inside of their homes. However, over
the past few years, law enforcement reports have shown a correlation between
home-invasion robberies and marijuana grow houses.
Check out this report from WSVN showing how marijuana grow houses in Miami-Dade
and Broward are often targets of home-invasion robberies.
Home-invasion robbery may be treated more seriously than an ordinary street
robbery because the invasion of one's home is considered to be a violation
of one's sense of personal security. For this reason, experienced
prosecutors are always assigned to handle these types of cases.
If in the course of committing the home-invasion robbery the accused carries
a firearm or other deadly weapon, the person commits a felony of the first
degree, punishable by life in prison. Florida's 10-20-Life law applies
to this crime in that the mere possession of a firearm by the accused
during the commission of a home-invasion robbery will warrant a 10-year
mandatory minimum state prison sentence.
As well, home-invasion robbery with a firearm is a non-bondable offense.
The accused will remain in jail without a bond pending the State's
filing of charges. If the State files charges in a timely fashion, a
Miami-Dade County criminal defense lawyer can request an Arthur Hearing whereby the judge will decide whether to
set a bond.
If in the course of committing the home-invasion robbery the person carries
a weapon, the person commits a felony of the first degree, punishable
by up to 30 years in prison.
If in the course of committing the home-invasion robbery the person carries
no firearm, deadly weapon, or other weapon, the person commits a felony
of the first degree, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Even without a firearm, home-invasion robbery is almost always a non-bondable
offense because the State Attorney can still charge the crime of burglary
with an assault or battery, which is punishable by life. If the offense
is punishable by life, Florida law mandates it a non-bondable offense.
If the accused carries a knife, baseball bat, or other non-firearm weapon,
the State may charge armed burglary instead, which will still result in
no bond being set as it is a felony punishable by a maximum of life in prison.
This may be confusing, jumping around between charges like that, but I
want to illustrate that the State Attorney's Office has tremendous
power when it comes to filing criminal charges. When a serious felony
offense occurs, it is the State Attorney's goal to keep the accused
person from getting out of jail.
As a former Miami-Dade prosecutor, I can give you a lot of insight into
the thinking of a prosecutor. Not only do prosecutors almost always believe
their officer and civilian witnesses, they believe that people accused
of felony offenses are bad people and should be locked away from society.
As well, prosecutors also like to keep defendants in jail because they
feel that defendants are more likely to accept plea offers that include
jail or prison time if they are already in custody.
Home-invasion robbery is one of the most serious felony charges in the
State of Florida. I am a criminal defense attorney who represents clients
charged with robbery offenses in Miami-Dade and Broward County.
Call me to discuss your case.