Carjacking charges in Palm Desert can occur if a person takes another person’s vehicle from their immediate possession through physical violence or threats of bodily harm against a driver or passenger. It is a felony, punishable by up to 9 years in prison. The judge can enhance your sentence if there are aggravating factors in your case. For example, if you used a dangerous weapon, like a gun, to complete the crime, your penalties will increase. Other life-changing consequences apply, including a damaging criminal record that may affect all aspects of your life.
However, you can influence the outcome of your case if you fight your carjacking charges with the help of a competent attorney. At Desert Defense Lawyers, we understand how helpful it could be if the court dismissed or reduced your charges. We can review your case, gather evidence, and strategize with you on how you can avoid a conviction under PC 215.
The Legal Meaning of Carjacking under California Law
A carjacking happens when you violently, or through threats of harm, take a vehicle from another person’s immediate presence. The person can be the vehicle's owner or driver. They can also be a passenger in the car. What matters is that you threaten to use force, or use force, against the person to take the vehicle from their immediate presence. There is also an intent to deprive the owner, driver, or passenger of the vehicle temporarily or permanently.
This is a serious crime that can result in severe penalties, including hefty court fines, lengthy prison sentences, and other life-changing consequences. That is why the prosecutor must prove all elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt for the court to find you guilty of your charges. The elements, as under PC 215, include the following:
- A person was in possession of a vehicle
- You took that vehicle from their immediate presence, or from the immediate presence of a passenger in the car.
- You did so against the person’s will.
- You used violence, force, or threats of violence to compel the person to give up possession of the vehicle
- You intended to deprive the vehicle owner, or the driver of the car, temporarily or permanently
Let us discuss these elements in more detail to understand the crime even better:
Possession of a Vehicle
A person is in possession of a vehicle if they have control over the vehicle. Possession, in this case, can be actual or constructive.
You are in actual possession of a vehicle if you are physically in control of it. This means you are either physically present in the vehicle or very close to it, outside. It means that the vehicle belongs to you, and you are the one operating it at the moment, or you are a hired driver of the vehicle.
Constructive possession of a vehicle means that you have control over the car, but do not have the vehicle with you at that moment. For example, you may have possession of a car in your garage or parking lot, even though it is not in the same physical location as you.
Thus, possession of a vehicle does not only apply when you are driving it. You can still be in possession of a car that you do not drive, or a vehicle in another location. Possession is all a matter of who is in control of the car.
A Person’s Immediate Presence
Remember that carjacking means taking a vehicle from a person’s immediate presence. Immediate presence, in this case, means that the car was within the person’s reach, control, or observation. The person’s proximity to the vehicle would be such that they were overcome by fear or by force when you used or threatened them to take possession of the vehicle.
Thus, carjacking can happen while a person is inside or outside the vehicle. This broadens the carjacking law in California to include incidents where a person can carjack a vehicle while the owner or driver is not physically in control of it.
Example: Celine is waiting for her boyfriend in a grocery store’s parking lot when a masked man enters one of the vehicles and starts to speed off. Celine demands that the man get out of the vehicle and even attempts to open the driver’s door while he is driving out of the parking lot. But the man holds out a knife and threatens to hurt Celine if she does not get out of the vehicle’s way. It turns out that the car belongs to one of the people shopping in the grocery stores.
Although this can be considered as grand theft auto, it is a carjacking incident since the masked man uses threats and is forced to take away another person’s vehicle from Celine’s immediate presence.
Taking a Vehicle
Carjacking is about taking a vehicle against a person’s will and in their immediate presence using threats, violence, or force. Taking a car from another person means you have taken possession of or control of it. It also means that you moved the vehicle from its original location, however slight the distance is. If you take another person’s vehicle but are unable to move it, you can face attempted carjacking charges, which is still a grave crime. However, the prosecutor must prove all the other elements of the crime for the court to find you guilty of attempted carjacking.
Taking a Vehicle Against a Person’s Will
Carjacking also happens when you take someone else’s vehicle without their authorization or consent. A vehicle owner or driver consents to the taking if they do so voluntarily and freely. If you take the car out of fear or by force, the taking is against their will.
Generally, a person consents to someone taking their vehicle if there is positive cooperation or free will. Unless a person willingly gives you their vehicle, you can be charged for taking it against their consent.
Using Fear, Force, or Threats
Carjacking also happens through fear, force, or threats of harm. These terms mean that the defendant coerced the victim’s response, or the victim’s response was induced by the force, fear, or threats used by the defendant.
A person can surrender their vehicle out of fear because they are afraid that you can harm their person, family, property, or the people or property around where the crime happens. For example, if you threaten to hurt innocent civilians if a vehicle owner stops you from taking their vehicle, the vehicle owner may relent to your taking it to protect the innocent people.
However, the victim's fear should be sufficient to compel them to comply with the unlawful demand for their vehicle or the vehicle they are in possession of. Courts determine this on a case-by-case basis. This means that a victim’s attempt to resist the taking of their vehicle can be used to prove that you used fear or force to take the vehicle from their possession and immediate presence.
Additionally, it is not necessary that the victim consciously know that you are using fear or force to take the vehicle from them or their presence. This means that you can be guilty of carjacking if you take another person’s vehicle in the immediate presence of an unconscious person or a toddler.
The Intent
Lastly, the prosecutor must prove your intent to deprive the owner or driver of the vehicle temporarily or permanently. You can be guilty of carjacking a person’s car to keep it for yourself, sell it, or use it for a specific period of time. If you are taking the vehicle temporarily, the time can be short or long. What matters is that you took possession of the vehicle and moved it over a substantial distance. You are guilty of carjacking even if you intended to keep the vehicle for just a few minutes.
Penalties for Carjacking under PC 215
Carjacking is categorized as a violent felony under California law. Thus, the penalties you will likely receive upon conviction are severe. These may include three, five, or nine years in prison, as well as $10,000 in court fines.
If there is more than one victim present during the time you commit the crime, you will face separate penalties for every victim present. This is because carjacking is considered a crime against one person. If you commit a crime against multiple people, the prosecutor will count it as various crimes. This will heighten your penalties, especially if there were more than two victims.
Additionally, the judge will enhance your penalties if there are aggravating factors in your case. Aggravating factors are circumstances in your case that could increase the severity of your crime, causing you to face heftier or additional penalties. Examples of aggravating factors and how they can affect your situation include the following:
- If someone sustains a significant bodily injury during the carjacking, the judge can enhance the penalties with three to six years in prison
- If you committed carjacking as a gang-related activity, the judge can increase your penalties by fifteen years to life in prison.
- If you used a dangerous weapon, like a gun, to commit carjacking, the judge can increase your penalties by ten more years in prison.
- If you fired a gun during a carjacking, you could receive twenty years to your penalties for the underlying crime.
- If someone is severely injured or killed with a gun during a carjacking, you could receive an additional sentence of twenty-five years to life in prison.
You must serve the enhanced sentence consecutively with the sentence for the underlying crime.
Carjacking as a Strike
Remember that carjacking is a violent felony, which makes it a strike under the California Three-Strikes law. This means your sentencing will be affected if you have one or more prior strikes on your criminal record. If it is your first strike, you receive your sentence as required by law. However, if it is your second strike, the judge will sentence you to twice the penalties provided for the underlying crime under the law. On the other hand, if this is your third strike, you will likely receive a 25-year-to-life prison sentence.
The Felony Murder Rule
If someone loses their life due to your actions or your accomplice’s actions when committing a carjacking, the California felony murder rule will take effect. This means that you will be charged with first-degree murder, which is a much more severe crime than carjacking. In this case, it does not matter whether your actions were a direct cause of the person’s death (like it would happen if you fired a gun at them), or if they died from extreme emotional stress, or a heart attack from the event.
First-degree murder is punishable by twenty-five years to life in prison.
Other Consequences of a Conviction under PC 215
A conviction for a violent felony like carjacking carries other life-changing consequences you should be aware of. For example, it leaves you with a serious criminal record that will affect various aspects of your life for the rest of your life. Since criminal records are publicly available, anyone who runs a background check on you will find out about the conviction. This can influence how they treat you. If your criminal background influences a potential employer’s decision, they could deny you a good job regardless of your qualifications. Landlords, insurance companies, and lending institutions also conduct background checks before making the final decision.
As an aggravated felony, a carjacking conviction will also carry severe immigration consequences. If you are an immigrant living in California, a conviction could result in deportation after serving your sentence. You could lose everything, including the life you have built for yourself over the years.
A conviction for carjacking also makes you a convicted felon, which affects your gun rights. If you own or purchase guns for protection or recreation, you will not be able to do that after the conviction. The ban on gun rights is usually for life, meaning that you have to surrender any firearm in your possession, and cannot use or purchase one after the conviction.
Fighting Carjacking Charges in Court
You can avoid conviction and all its consequences if you fight your charges during the trial. You can counter the prosecutor’s case with evidence, present more compelling evidence in your favor, or use mitigating factors to convince the court to rule the case in your favor. This can work very well when you have a competent criminal defense lawyer by your side. There are several defense strategies a lawyer can use to achieve a favorable outcome. Examples of these defense techniques include the following:
There Was No Use of Fear or Force
Remember that fear or force are critical elements of the crime of carjacking. A carjacking happens when you use fear or force to take a vehicle from another person’s immediate presence to deprive its owner of the vehicle permanently or temporarily. If all other elements are true, but there is no proof that you used fear or force, the court cannot find you guilty of your charges. This could have been the case if you took another person’s car without anyone present. However, your actions can result in additional criminal charges, such as joyriding or grand theft auto.
You Had Consent
If a person, like a driver or vehicle owner, willingly agrees to lend you their car, you are not guilty of carjacking. Someone might file carjacking charges if you borrow a vehicle but fail to return it on time. However, your actions will not satisfy all the elements of the offense since there was consent. In this case, the court will dismiss your charges. However, you could be charged with joyriding or grand theft auto for failing to return a borrowed vehicle.
You Are Mistakenly Accused
Carjackings happen very fast, in the dark, or sometimes by people wearing masks. This can be confusing, especially when a victim is identifying the perpetrator. If you look like, wear the same clothes as, have the same features as, or are friends with the perpetrator, you could be falsely identified as the perpetrator. Your attorney can counter this allegation by providing compelling evidence to show that you did not commit the crime. For example, they can use your alibi to prove that you could not have committed the crime because you were in a different location from the crime scene.
Find a Competent Criminal Lawyer Near Me
Carjacking is a serious felony in Palm Desert, with severe penalties upon conviction. In addition to the criminal penalties you receive during sentencing, other consequences of a conviction make your life extremely difficult due to the damaging criminal record you receive. However, a competent lawyer can help you avoid all that by putting up a solid defense against your charges.
We have a team of experienced criminal defense lawyers at Desert Defense Lawyers, who are willing and ready to help you fight your charges. We will help you navigate all complex court processes, defend your rights, and fight your charges during the trial. We can use our best defense techniques to convince the judge to dismiss or reduce your charges. Call us at 888-293-0396 to discuss your case and needs in detail.
