Defense of Drive-By Shooting
Drive-by shooting cases are alarmingly prevalent throughout Los Angeles County. Unfortunately, when an individual is arrested and prosecuted for a drive-by shooting under California Penal Code 26100, the gravity of the situation cannot be overstated. The potential consequences, including significant time in custody, underscore the urgent need for a robust legal defense.
The reason for this is that whenever you're shooting at somebody, the prosecutors are going to charge you with attempted murder. So, to avoid this, you will have to not be the shooter in the case and not be aiding and abetting the shooter.
Where this starts to get tricky and more complicated is when there are gang allegations. Because when a group of gang members gets together and goes out together, everybody knows that some people are armed in the car.
It's crucial to understand the case type and your client's role. Even the driver of the car can be charged with attempted murder in a drive-by shooting. This understanding is essential for determining the defense strategy.
In other words, is it a case where you're going to be defending the case and taking it to jury trial and saying your client didn't have anything to do with the shooting?
In that case, you're going to have to show that your client is not a gang member, not operating with the gang when the shooting occurs.
Conversely, if your client were involved, you would want to mitigate things. Hopefully, it's your client's first offense.
Hopefully, your client wasn't the shooter. These are the types of considerations that criminal defense attorneys have when defending these drive-by shooting cases in Los Angeles.
Penalties for PC 26100 Drive-by Shooting
Some of the crimes that flow from a drive-by shooting case would be, obviously:
- attempted murder, where you're looking at fifteen to life;
- they will also put a gang allegation on there if they can show that the shooting was for the benefit and at the direction of a criminal street gang, which is a 10-year enhancement;
- then, if during the shooting, somebody gets hit with a bullet, that is a 25-year enhancement that will be tacked onto the back of the case.
And then, any other charges would apply based on the facts and circumstances surrounding the case.
So, you start to get the idea that these drive-by shooting cases in Los Angeles County are probably some of the most harshly punished crimes that we see.
If somebody dies, they're going to charge everybody with murder, especially if it's a gang case, and then the person will be looking at the rest of their life in prison.
Criminal Defense for California Drive-by Shooting Charges
If you or a loved one is charged in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles County, it's crucial to have professional legal representation. With over 200 jury trials and 27 years of experience, I can provide the expertise and experience needed for a successful defense.
I've been a criminal defense attorney defending these types of cases now for the past 27 years. I know how the other side views these cases and how they investigate them.
The prosecutors usually put their best prosecutors to deal with the case, and the police usually put robbery/homicide their best police officers on these cases.
So, they're going to do a top-level investigation typically, and they're going to treat these cases very harshly because of the impact on society when people are firing weapons because a lot of times innocent people are hit.
I also worked for a Superior Court judge early in my career as his right-hand man, which gave me a good idea of how judges view and decide cases.
I can use that experience in dealing with the judge on any legal issues, trying to resolve the case, or, obviously, during a jury trial if that's what we decide to do.
So, when it comes to a drive-by shooting, you've got to have an attorney, in my opinion, who has the dual ability to fight a case at a jury trial, if necessary.
Also, we need to negotiate with the prosecutor's top brass because they will have to deal with us if we choose that route.
Then, you have the experience and know-how to figure out the best course of action, talk to your client about it, make sure they're on board with it, and do everything you possibly can to get the best resolution.
If you or a loved one is facing a drive-by shooting charge in LA County, don't lose hope. Reach out to us. Request a meeting with Ron Hedding. We are here to provide the best possible legal defense and help you navigate this challenging situation.
We serve clients throughout all Southern California Courts, including LA County, Orange County, Ventura County, Torrance, West Covina, San Fernando Valley, Riverside, and San Bernardino.
