If someone convinces you to drive the getaway car in a robbery, do not do it. You may think that the only charge you will get if caught is aiding and abetting criminals, but you are wrong. In many cases, you can be charged with much more. Under Canadian law, you could even be charged with grand larceny yourself, even if you never touched a single dollar of the money that was stolen. It does not seem hardly fair, but that is the law. If you hire a criminal lawyer, here is what he or she might be able to do for you.

Convincing the Tribunal It Was a Mistake

If this is your first offence in the involvement of an armed robbery, your lawyer might be able to convince the tribunal that you made an error in judgment and you will not do this ever again. The younger you are, the more likely this strategy will work, which is why many grand larcenists try to get adolescent or young adult drivers for the getaway car. The thieves know that the tribunal might give a lighter sentence to someone who's "young and dumb" or naive. However, older drivers of getaway cars have had their sentences reduced if they are willing to accept their guilt and distance themselves from the thieves they know.

Convincing the Tribunal You Have a Cognitive Disability

Having a cognitive disability means that people might take advantage of you and manipulate you because they know you cannot think things through like someone without a disability. This particular criminal strategy is heinous, because it means these people put your safety and the rest of your life in jeopardy in order to steal money at gunpoint. At least if this is your situation, you already have the paperwork to prove that you have a cognitive disability and your lawyer may be able to get you acquitted and/or placed under protective services so that this does not happen to you again.

House Arrest Instead of Prison

It will be an uphill battle for your lawyer, but he or she may be able to get a house arrest sentence instead of prison. This means you would have to wear a tracking and monitoring bracelet and only leave the house for daily activities pre-approved by the judge and tribunal. You may also have your license suspended or revoked as part of your plea bargain, in which case you would have to have a friend drive you to and from work every day, or rely on cab services. Regardless of what your lawyer arranges, you will have to be on your best behavior and stick to the requirements of your sentence in order to avoid prison time.

Contact a criminal lawyer like Leo A Kinahan for more information.

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