Domestic Violence Vandalism in Los Angeles
A lot of domestic violence offenses come with vandalism as well. In other words, the person is charged with Penal Code Section 273.5 or Penal Code 243(e)(1), and they're also charged with a vandalism allegation because they got angry at their spouse or significant other and broke some of their property.
Where it gets a little bit tricky is if you break your property — like if you're married and you punch a hole in your windshield or your wife's windshield, it's a community property situation.
That's probably not going to be filed against you because if it's property you own, you can destroy your property if you want. You just can't hit or hurt your significant other, or you will be charged with a crime.
But, to get that vandalism charge under Penal Code 594, you're going to have to be destroying someone else's property. It happens all the time where maybe somebody punctures somebody's tires or damages somebody's vehicle or takes their phone and breaks it on the ground.
So, there are circumstances where they're damaging other people's property and what ends up happening is they're going to get charged with domestic violence and be accused of vandalism.
Sometimes, those charges go hand-in-hand, and the person will be looking at additional punishment for the domestic violence charge and the vandalism charge. The most common types of domestic violence charges include domestic battery and corporal injury to a spouse.
Paying Restitution for Damaged Property
Also, if they damage another person's property, they will be responsible for paying restitution. So, if you take somebody's $1,000 phone and break it on the ground, you will have to pay them back the $1,000 to replace the phone.
That's one big thing the prosecutors are looking at in all domestic violence cases, as well as in all criminal cases. If a victim is out of money or property, they will hold the defendant responsible if that defendant damages or breaks the other party's property.
So, it is common that there are domestic violence and vandalism charges filed together. I think adding vandalism into the mix exacerbates the case and makes it more serious.
A lot of time, what we can do to do damage control is pay the other person back if you vandalize them or help them fix whatever you destroyed. The prosecutors will see that and consider that when dealing with the case, you don't accept responsibility for that and don't pay them back.
Then, the prosecutors will hold you responsible for that in the form of punishment—whether it be jail time, a fine, restitution, community service, Cal Trans, or longer probation.
So, if the prosecution has the goods on you and will be able to prove a domestic violence case against you, and you have a vandalism case filed, you want to do what you can to make things easier for yourself.
Defenses to Domestic Violence and Vandalism Charges
That's why getting to an attorney as soon as possible is important. Let that attorney guide you through what it's going to take to do damage control and lessen the impact of a domestic violence charge in Los Angeles against you.
This includes a vandalism charge and bad injuries; those are all things that make matters worse and make it more likely that the prosecutors will seek jail time and even prison time, depending on the severity of the injuries.
So, I suggest I've been doing this for 25 years. I've had many cases where a person is charged with both domestic violence and vandalism. I would get in the office as soon as possible, and let's start developing a plan on what we can do to minimize the effects of this criminal case.
Depending on the circumstances, insurance can sometimes come into play as well to help minimize the impact of these domestic violence/vandalism charges. But the best way to handle it, obviously, is to get a game plan together and let your criminal defense attorney execute that game plan on your behalf so you can protect your rights, your freedom, and your reputation.
