Robbery Defense Lawyer in Arizona — Felony Defense Under ARS 13-1902 Through 13-1904
A robbery defense lawyer in Arizona defends clients accused under Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1902 (robbery), 13-1903 (aggravated robbery), and 13-1904 (armed robbery). Oliverson Law DUI & Criminal Defense combines judicial, prosecutorial, and law enforcement experience across Maricopa and Mohave counties. Call (480) 582-3637 for a free case evaluation.
What Does Arizona Law Say About Robbery Under ARS 13-1902, 13-1903, and 13-1904?
Arizona classifies robbery in three tiers. ARS 13-1902 defines simple robbery as the taking of property from another against his will, where the defendant threatens or uses force with intent either to coerce surrender of property or to prevent resistance. Simple robbery is a class 4 felony.
ARS 13-1903 defines aggravated robbery as robbery committed with the aid of one or more accomplices actually present. Aggravated robbery is a class 3 felony. ARS 13-1904 defines armed robbery as robbery in which the defendant or an accomplice is armed with a deadly weapon or simulated deadly weapon, uses or threatens to use a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or takes or attempts to take such a weapon from the victim. Armed robbery is a class 2 felony and may trigger Arizona’s Dangerous Offense sentencing under ARS 13-704.
Robbery requires a specific combination of elements — taking, force or threat, and intent. Each of those elements is contestable. Identification issues, force-element disputes, and deadly-weapon disputes are where many Arizona robbery cases are reduced to less serious offenses or dismissed.
What Happens After a Robbery Arrest in Arizona?
Arizona’s criminal process moves quickly, and the decisions made in the first 48 to 72 hours after an arrest shape the rest of the case. The exact timeline depends on the charge and the court, but most Arizona cases follow the same four stages.
Arrest and Initial Appearance
If you are arrested, Rule 4.1 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure requires that you be brought before a judge for an Initial Appearance within 24 hours. That is when release conditions — bond, own-recognizance release, or pretrial detention — are set. Having counsel in place before the Initial Appearance can directly affect the conditions the court orders.
Arraignment and Plea Entry
Felony arraignments in Superior Court and misdemeanor arraignments in city or justice court are where the charges are formally read and a plea is entered. A not-guilty plea at arraignment preserves every defense and triggers the State’s disclosure obligations under Rule 15.
Pretrial Motions and Disclosure Review
This is the stage where most criminal cases are decided. Motions to suppress evidence, motions challenging the charging instrument, and review of police reports, body camera video, and witness statements all happen here. A successful suppression motion can end a case before trial.
Resolution: Plea, Diversion, Dismissal, or Trial
Most Arizona criminal cases resolve through a negotiated plea, a diversion program, or dismissal after a successful defense motion. When trial is the right path, Rule 8 sets time limits the State must meet. Our approach is to prepare every case as if it is going to trial, because that preparation is what produces better plea offers.
How Does Our Team Build Your Robbery Defense?
An effective Arizona criminal defense is built around four questions: Was the State’s evidence lawfully obtained? Can the State prove every element of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt? Are there affirmative defenses or justifications that apply? And what resolution produces the best long-term outcome for the client? Every case we take is worked through this framework.
Challenging the Stop, Search, or Seizure
Fourth Amendment issues are where many Arizona criminal cases break down. Traffic stops without reasonable suspicion, searches beyond the scope of consent, and warrantless home entries without exigent circumstances all create suppression arguments under ARS 13-3925 and the Fourth Amendment.
Attacking the State’s Evidence
Chain of custody, lab testing protocols, officer credibility, body-camera gaps, and witness reliability are all challengeable. The State must prove every element of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt — breaking any single element ends the prosecution.
Raising Affirmative Defenses
Arizona recognizes self-defense under ARS 13-404, defense of a third person under ARS 13-406, defense of premises and property, necessity, duress, and mistake of fact. When the facts support it, we raise these defenses early and present them to the jury.
Negotiating From Trial-Ready Strength
Our preferred resolution is always dismissal or diversion. When a plea is the right outcome, we negotiate from the leverage created by trial preparation. Prosecutors move their offers when they see a defense that is ready to go.
Why Does Our Background Give You an Advantage?
Oliverson Law was founded in 2009 by Derek Oliverson, who brings a career spanning law enforcement, prosecution, and the judiciary. He earned his B.S. in Criminal Justice (magna cum laude) from Southern Utah University and his J.D. with a concentration in litigation from Creighton University School of Law. He was admitted to the Arizona Bar in October 2009.
Before founding the firm, Derek served as a police officer in Henderson, Nevada, worked as a criminal prosecutor in Mohave County, Arizona, and presided as a judge at both Page Magistrate Court (overseeing adjudication of 3,000+ cases annually) and Glendale City Court (starting in 2012, overseeing 40,000+ cases annually). He left the bench in 2014 to focus on criminal defense.
Attorney David Tangren is a graduate of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law where he served as Note and Comment Editor on the International and Comparative Law Journal. Before joining Oliverson Law, David was a prosecutor at the Pima County Attorney’s Office, handling cases from misdemeanors through the felony trial team in the Property and Narcotics Bureau.
Which Arizona Counties and Cities Do We Serve?
Oliverson Law handles felony robbery cases throughout Arizona from our main office at 60 E Rio Salado Pkwy, Suite 900, Tempe, AZ 85281. We appear regularly in Superior Court across Maricopa County and Mohave County.
Maricopa County (Population: 4,551,524)
Maricopa County Superior Court at 201 W Jefferson St, Phoenix handles all felony cases. Misdemeanor cases are heard in the 26 justice court precincts and municipal courts located throughout the county, including regional facilities in Mesa (222 E Javelina Ave), Surprise (14264 W Tierra Buena Ln), and North Phoenix (18380 N 40th St).
Mohave County (Population: 222,255)
Mohave County Superior Court at 415 E Spring St in Kingman handles felony cases. Our founder Derek Oliverson began his legal career as a prosecutor in Mohave County and maintains direct familiarity with the local courts and procedures.
Maricopa CountyPima CountyPinal CountyYavapai CountyMohave CountyCoconino CountyYuma CountyCochise County
Frequently Asked Questions
Under ARS 13-1902, simple robbery is a class 4 felony. Under ARS 13-1903, aggravated robbery (robbery with the aid of one or more accomplices actually present) is a class 3 felony. Under ARS 13-1904, armed robbery (robbery in which the defendant or an accomplice is armed with or threatens use of a deadly weapon) is a class 2 felony. Which statute is charged significantly affects sentencing exposure.
Armed robbery under ARS 13-1904 can trigger Arizona’s Dangerous Offense sentencing enhancement under ARS 13-704 when a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument is used or exhibited. Breaking the “used or exhibited” element is often the single most important task in an Arizona armed-robbery case.
Sometimes, yes. Robbery cases are regularly reduced to theft (ARS 13-1802), assault (ARS 13-1203), or other less serious offenses when the defense can break one of the statutory robbery elements — the taking, the force or threat, or the specific intent.
Simple robbery under ARS 13-1902 does not require a weapon. The charge requires only a taking accomplished by force or threat of force. If the State has charged armed robbery (ARS 13-1904), the defense goal is to defeat the deadly-weapon element and reduce the exposure to simple or aggravated robbery.
Rule 8 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure sets time limits by which the State must bring a felony case to trial. The actual timeline depends on complexity, the court’s calendar, and whether the case resolves through plea negotiation, diversion, or trial.
Oliverson Law’s team includes a former judge (Glendale City Court), former prosecutors (Mohave County and Pima County), and a former police officer. That combined experience on the charging, prosecuting, and judicial sides of Arizona criminal cases is what informs our defense strategy. We have been defending Arizona criminal charges since the firm was founded in 2009.
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Derek Oliverson has presided over thousands of cases from the bench, prosecuted criminal cases in Mohave County, and patrolled streets as a police officer. Now he uses that experience to defend you.
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