Elements That Make Up a Crime

When Sarah takes a laptop that was left unattended and out in the open, she would have committed larceny, or also known as theft (Wise Geek, 2011). Larceny is defined as unlawful taking, riding away or carrying of someone’s property which does not involve force or threat to human life with the intent to permanently deprive the person of possession (Miller 2008). Sarah committed larceny when she went onto Makoto’s property (without consent) took the computer and told everyone it was her computer, which proves the intent to deprive Makoto of his property. Sarah did not use any violence or nor did she threaten Makoto or anyone else that may have been around. Crimes of embezzlement, confidence games, and check fraud are not included in larceny (FBI, 2010). The degree of larceny depends (in most cases) on the type and value of the property stolen. The next scenario, Sarah passes Makoto’s home and sees Makoto with a laptop. She holds Makoto at gun point and forces him to give her the computer that was in Makoto possession, then runs away with the laptop. The crime that Sarah committed was aggravated robbery which is defined as the use of, or exhibits or carries the weapon and threatens to use it (Criminal Defense Lawyer, 2013). A deadly weapon can be any item that can be used or threaten to do bodily harm such as a gun, knife, club. Under most state laws aggravated robbery carries a stiffer penalty (longer possible term) than simple robbery by merely taking by force or by the threat of force (Criminal Defense Lawyer, 2013). To be armed is to threaten to use a weapon, the actual use of a weapon, or even the reasonable belief that one has a weapon in possession. Just because Sarah had the weapon it is still considered aggravated robbery. Most robbery statutes distinguish between simple robbery and aggravated robbery. “The most common aggravating factors are that the robber was armed with a deadly weapon or represented that he or she had a gun, that the robber

References: Bureau of Justice Statistics, (2011) Larceny/Theft Retrieved on January, 16, 2012 from: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=322 Criminal Defense Lawyer (2013) Armed Robbery: Laws and Penalties Retrieved on January 16, 2013 from: http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/crime-penalties/federal/Armed- Robbery.htm Federal Bureau of Investigation (2010) Crime in the United States: Larceny- Theft Retrieved on January 16, 2013 from: Retrieved on January 16, 2013 from: http://definitions.uslegal.com/b/breaking-and-entering/ U.S. Legal, Legal Definitions, (2011), Breaking and Entering Law and Legal Definitions Retrieved on January 16, 2013 from: http://definitions.uslegal.com/b/breaking-and-entering/ Legal Dictionary (2013) Robbery-Punishment Retrieved on January 17, 2013 from: http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/armed+robbery Miller, R., & Jentz, G (2008) Fundamentals of Business Law, Cengage Learning Mason, Ohio Wise Geek. (2011). What are the Different Types of Felony Theft? Retrieved on January 17, 2013 from: