Arlington Robbery Indictments

An indictment refers to formal accusations or serious charges of a criminal offense. Arlington robbery indictments occur when individuals are formally accused of robbery offenses. If you have been indicted for robbery, it is imperative that you seek the services of a seasoned robbery attorney that could help. It can be difficult to navigate the robbery trial process alone, and a determined robbery attorney could fight tirelessly in your defense.

Indictments in Robbery Cases

If a person is charged with any crime in Virginia and the government intends to prosecute that case by going to trial in circuit court, the government must go through what a grand jury. A grand jury is a group of private citizens that acts as a clearinghouse for government charges. What happens is the Commonwealth attorney who prosecutes crimes in Virginia must present the evidence of the robbery to a grand jury and then explain what the elements of robbery are to them. Once the grand jury hears the evidence, hears what the law is about robbery, the grand jury will decide whether or not to sign a document called an indictment. Once that document is signed then the person can be tried in the circuit court of jurisdiction where the grand jury sits.

Process of a Robbery Arrest

Law enforcement chooses to arrest a person when they believe they have probable cause that the person committed the offense. What triggers that probable cause varies greatly from case to case.  Once they have that probable cause they are going to be looking to place a person under arrest.

Once a person is placed under arrest, they will be presented before a person called a magistrate and the magistrate is a judicial officer whose responsibility is to determine whether or not a person should be granted a bond which indicates that they are being charged with it. If a person is charged with robbery, it is rare to get a bond right away. The magistrate will likely hold them without bond and the person, with their attorney, will have an opportunity to present a motion to the court to actually set a bond in their case.

Under What Circumstances are People Indicted Before Being Arrested?

The primary reason for Arlington robbery indictments that occur before arrests, is that authorities can find them. If they want to institute these criminal charges and if they elect to not use the traditional means of securing an arrest warrant for that person, they will go ahead and just indict a person. It is rare and it is not preferred by judges or Commonwealth attorneys but it is a way to expedite the judicial process if they feel it is necessary to do so.

Usually, people are arrested and they go through the process in the district court which is called the preliminary hearing. The preliminary hearing gives the judge in district court an opportunity to review the case evidence and determine whether or not they will cause this to go forward. The next step would be to put the case in front of the grand jury. However, if the government is having a hard time locating the individual that has being charged with a crime, sometimes they skip that step and jump straight into the indictment. They do have the ability to do that, but it is not the preferred way, but they do have the ability to indict directly without arresting a person and having that person go through the process.

Time it Takes for Someone to Learn of Their Arlington Robbery Indictment

If a person is indicted, the way they find out typically is typically when they get a lot. Lot Arlington robbery indictments are under seal until the person is rested and that person and find out about it in some eyes and about it some other way and inside, it is time for nice foreign vacation. Arrest records are public so anything that is available to the courthouse is available to the public and to the media. All of the information is publicly accessible. Most jurisdictions in Virginia are part of a statewide database that has charges and results of charges included. They may be at the courthouse online, but they are accessible. If an individual wants to know more about Arlington Robbery Indictments, they should speak with a knowledgeable robbery attorney that could answer their questions.