Expert: Robin Sexton - 9/6/2009

Question
My brother asked my husband to take him over one of his friends house, when my husband did my brother went in and robbey the people in the house. My brother ran but my husband did not because he did not know what was going on inside the house. The police has charged both my husband and my brother with the crime, I don't understand why. But i was told that my husband could be charged with accessory to arm robbery. just what does that mean and do you know what the sentence is for such a charge

Answer
Violet,

Sorry about what happened to your husband.  He will need an attorney.  Your husband was an accomplice to an armed robbery.   Although he did not have a weapon or go in the house he participated, at least by legal definition, in the robbery.  Accessory very simply means he assisted either before, during or after the crime.  The sentence will obviously depend on the state but in most states it is treated the same as the principal ( the one that does the crime). This crime is a felony and is usually very serious.  Sentences are based the person's involvement and prior history.  I understand that your husband probably told the police he had no knowledge of what was going on and hopefully so did your brother.  However the police tend to be a little cynical because that are lied to so much.   He will need an attorney to help him with this.  Two  possibility is he could take a police administered polygraph.  But he should only take it after consulting with an attorney and only if he had no knowledge of the crime before it happened.  Second by cooperating with the prosecutors office against your brother he may be able to minimize his charges / sentence also.

Hope this helps

good luck

robin