Carjacking Defense Lawyer
LAPD pulls you over on the 110 freeway, say the car you’re driving matches a carjacking report from two hours ago—you explain you borrowed the car from a friend, they don’t believe you, they put you in handcuffs and take you to LAPD 77th Street Station. They book you for Penal Code 215 carjacking, set bail at $250,000, you can’t afford it, you sit in Twin Towers jail for three days before arraignment. The DA files charges—PC 215(a) carjacking, a serious felony with 3 to 9 years in state prison. You’re thinking “I didn’t force anyone, I had permission to borrow the car, how is this carjacking?” The public defender tells you the DA is offering a plea deal to auto theft (VC 10851) with 2 years, says you should take it because carjacking is a strike and if you lose at trial you get 5 to 9 years plus the strike follows you for life, and what is the sentence for carjacking in California? Penal Code 215 defines carjacking as taking a motor vehicle from another person’s possession or immediate presence, against their will, by means of force or fear, with intent to deprive them of possession—even temporarily. Five elements required: (1) taking a motor vehicle, (2) from person’s possession or immediate presence, (3) against their will, (4) by force or fear, (5) intent to deprive. If any element is missing, it’s not carjacking. The critical distinction from auto theft (Vehicle Code 10851) is that carjacking requires the victim be present and you used force or fear—auto theft does not. If you took a car that was parked and empty with keys in ignition, that’s auto theft, not carjacking. The difference matters—auto theft is a wobbler (max 3 years), carjacking is always a felony with 3, 5, or 9 years in California state prison. No probation—Penal Code 1203(e)(1) makes carjacking ineligible for probation, so conviction means mandatory state prison, no exceptions. First-time offender, perfect record, made one mistake—doesn’t matter, you go to prison. The sentence gets worse with enhancements: if victim suffered great bodily injury, add 3 to 6 years consecutive (PC 12022.7), if you used a gun, add 10, 20, or 25 years to life (PC 12022.53), if multiple victims, add 1 to 3 years per victim (PC 667.6(c)). Maximum possible sentence—life in prison if you used a gun and caused great bodily injury. Prosecutors stack enhancements to leverage plea bargains, threatening decades if you go to trial, offering 5 years if you plead guilty today. The no-probation rule eliminates any rehabilitation alternative—you can’t do drug treatment, you can’t do community service, you go to state prison.
Yes—carjacking is a serious felony under Penal Code 1192.7(c)(18) and counts as a strike under California’s Three Strikes Law. A strike stays on your record permanently with catastrophic consequences for any future conviction. First strike—you serve your sentence as normal (3, 5, or 9 years), but the strike follows you forever. Second strike—if you’re ever convicted of any new felony, your sentence doubles. Get convicted of drug possession (normally 16 months/2 years/3 years), with a prior strike it becomes 32 months/4 years/6 years. Third strike—25 years to life. You cannot reduce carjacking to a misdemeanor—Penal Code 17(b) allows wobbler offenses to be reduced from felony to misdemeanor, but PC 17(b) does not apply to serious felonies, and carjacking is a serious felony, so it stays a felony forever. The strike makes you ineligible for many, many jobs—anything requiring professional license (nursing, teaching, law, real estate), anything requiring security clearance, anything working with children or vulnerable adults, many corporate jobs that run background checks. One mistake at 19 years old ruins your life—you do 5 years in prison, you get out at 24, you can’t get a job, you can’t rent an apartment (landlords run background checks), you can’t vote while on parole, you can’t own a gun, and if you ever get arrested again for anything, the DA will use that strike to double your sentence. Is that equal justice under law when one conviction permanently destroys your economic future?
Simple carjacking under PC 215(a) is taking a vehicle by force or fear from the person’s presence—3, 5, or 9 years. Aggravated circumstances enhance the sentence but aren’t separate charges: using a weapon (gun, knife, blunt object), causing bodily injury, multiple victims, gang-related activity. Federal carjacking under 18 USC 2119 applies if the carjacking “affects interstate or foreign commerce”—which federal prosecutors interpret to mean any car that crossed state lines at any point (so basically every car), allowing them to prosecute entirely local crimes in federal court where penalties are harsher (up to 15 years, or 25 years if bodily injury, or life imprisonment if death results). Common carjacking scenarios—gas station carjackings where victim is pumping gas and engine is running, parking lot carjackings where victim is entering or exiting vehicle, ATM carjackings where victim is distracted withdrawing cash, home driveway carjackings, rideshare driver carjackings where Uber or Lyft drivers are targeted. Recent trends in Los Angeles—rideshare driver carjackings increased 200% from 2020 to 2022 according to the California Department of Justice, luxury vehicles specifically targeted (Range Rover, Tesla, Mercedes-Benz), juvenile carjackers (under 18) increasingly prosecuted as adults under Penal Code 707(b) if they’re 16 or older and used a weapon. The federal vs. state forum shopping problem—federal prosecutors can take any carjacking case by claiming it “affects interstate commerce,” then charge 18 USC 2119 with up to 25 years, forcing defendants to plead guilty to avoid trial, even when the crime was entirely local. That’s not federalism, that’s forum shopping for harsher penalties.
No force or fear—if you took the car without using force or fear (owner left keys in ignition and walked away), this is Vehicle Code 10851 auto theft, not Penal Code 215 carjacking. The difference is huge—VC 10851 is a wobbler (can be misdemeanor with max 1 year county jail, or felony with max 3 years), it’s not a strike, and it’s eligible for probation. Prosecution must prove force or fear beyond reasonable doubt—if they can’t, the carjacking charge fails and at most you’re guilty of auto theft. Consent—if the owner gave you permission to take the vehicle, there’s no carjacking. “I borrowed the car from my friend, he said I could use it”—that’s consent, no crime occurred. Prosecution must prove lack of consent beyond reasonable doubt. Defense attorneys challenge this by showing text messages (owner texted “you can borrow my car”), witness testimony (friend testifies they gave permission), prior course of dealing (you’ve borrowed this car many, many times before). The DA will argue you exceeded the scope of consent—”he said you could borrow it for an hour, you kept it for three days”—but exceeding consent might be civil conversion, it’s not carjacking with 5 to 9 years in prison. No intent to deprive—if you did not intend to deprive the owner of possession, no carjacking occurred. Example: you mistakenly believed the car was yours (you own a white Honda Accord, victim owns a white Honda Accord, you took the wrong car by mistake)—no intent, no crime. False accusation—victim misidentified you (eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable), or victim is lying for insurance fraud, or victim has personal motive to lie (domestic dispute, child custody battle). Defense attorneys investigate the victim’s credibility, file Pitchess motions to discover the victim’s history of false reports, cross-examine the victim at trial about inconsistencies. Insufficient evidence—prosecution must prove all five elements beyond reasonable doubt (taking + from person’s presence + against their will + by force or fear + intent to deprive). If any element fails, you’re entitled to acquittal. Lesser included offenses for plea bargaining—if the evidence doesn’t support carjacking, DA may accept plea to VC 10851 auto theft (max 3 years, not a strike), PC 487(d)(1) grand theft auto (max 3 years, not a strike), or PC 664/215 attempted carjacking (half the sentence). The problem—DA overcharges PC 215 carjacking instead of VC 10851 auto theft to create leverage for plea bargaining. They know the case is weak, they know it’s really auto theft, but they charge carjacking because the strike threat terrifies defendants into pleading guilty to auto theft with 2 years rather than risking trial on carjacking with 5 to 9 years plus a strike. That’s not justice, that’s coercion—using the threat of a life-ruining strike to extract guilty pleas from people who might be innocent or guilty only of a lesser crime.
212-300-5196.