In State v. Butler, 89 N.J. 220, 445 A.2d 399 (1982), defendant pled guilty to first-degree robbery. He had simulated possession of a handgun in the course of robbing the victim. At that time, the definition of deadly weapon in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1(c) was identical to the current NERA definition. Writing for the Court, Justice Handler noted that our robbery statute was based on the New York Penal Code. Id. at 228, 445 A.2d 399. The New York law specifically permitted, as an affirmative defense to first-degree robbery, a showing that the weapon used to commit the crime was unloaded. Justice Handler noted that the New Jersey Code contains no such explicit affirmative defense. The Court did, however, conclude that the language in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1(c) set forth an objective definition of deadly weapon: This is an objective definition that does not include toy guns or simulation. Since first degree robbery requires a threat with a deadly weapon, there can be no doubt that the weapon itself must exist and be of a type that would ordinarily be capable of causing a grievous or fatal injury. Butler, supra, 89 N.J. at 229, 445 A.2d 399. The New Jersey Supreme Court held that a toy gun or a finger in a pocket simulating a gun was not a deadly weapon under the then-applicable robbery statute which required the actor use or threaten "the immediate use of a deadly weapon." Id. at 226, 445 A.2d 399.(citing N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1(b)). However, by the time Butler was decided the Legislature had amended the prior definition to include the above-emphasized language in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1. The present status of the law is that any device, instrument or the like will make a robbery a crime of the first degree if the victim reasonably believes the perpetrator is armed with a deadly weapon.