State v. Sein

Francisco Sein (defendant) walked up behind Edythe Williams as she unlocked her car with her purse under her arm, reached across her, slid the purse out from under her arm, and ran away, with no evidence he used any force beyond that involved in sliding the purse free. New Jersey's original 1979 robbery statute required a theft accompanied by injuring or threatening another, and a 1981 amendment added that a person is guilty of robbery if, while committing a theft, he inflicts bodily injury or uses force upon another. Sein moved for acquittal on the robbery charge, arguing his conduct amounted only to larceny from the person because he used no force against Williams's body; the trial court denied the motion, the jury convicted him of second-degree robbery, and the appellate division reversed and ordered resentencing for the lesser larceny offense, from which the State appealed.