More and more, I'm getting a lot of these cases where people are charged with murder. It's usually a drive-by gang shooting, and a lot of times, my client is not even being charged with being the shooter.
However, the legal system is complex, and they cast a wide net over gang activity. If multiple people are in a car, one person is driving, you've got passengers, and maybe just one shooter, the police are going to arrest everybody. California drive-by shooting laws are covered under Penal Code 26100.
The prosecutors are going to file severe charges, especially if somebody is killed during the drive-by shooting. They're going to charge everybody with the murder, which can have serious consequences.
Conspiracy and Gang Allegations in Murder Cases
They're going to say it's a conspiracy between everybody. They use the gang allegation to link everything together with the argument that a gang member shoots other gang members.
Also, even other people in the community instill fear for the benefit of the gang, so everyone knows that gangs are dangerous and nobody messes with them when they do their drug activity or other violent offenses that they're being accused of.
The law, in a lot of ways, has supported these charges and going after people – even people who are not the shooters and who didn't intend to kill anybody.
So, you need a reasonable defense attorney to segregate you if you're the defendant or your loved one out if your loved one is in custody. A defense attorney will work to protect your rights, challenge the evidence against you, and ensure you receive a fair trial.
A lot of times in these drive-by shootings where somebody dies and the person gets arrested, that person is going to be in custody. They will look at $1 million, $2 million, $3 million, and $4 million in bail, depending on how many charges there are and precisely what happened in a particular case.
Felony-Murder Rule in California
So, you need to get down to the evidence against a particular defendant. In this felony-murder rule concept, if you're in the process of committing a felony and somebody dies, even if you're not the actual shooter, sometimes the prosecutors will try and go after you and hold you responsible for the murder.
There is a recent case law that just came out that is actually helpful to the defense, which says that you've got to be a significant participant in the murder to be charged with the murder. This means that if you're not the shooter, you can argue that you shouldn't be held accountable for the murder.
If you're not the shooter, for example, in a shooting where somebody drives by and kills somebody, you're going to be able to make the argument that you shouldn't be held accountable for that murder. There is hope for a favorable outcome.
But the issue is going to be: what role did you play? Are there gang allegations? Were you the driver? Are they even able to tell who the shooter is? Again, this is what is so incredible about these murder drive-by shootings that involve gangs.
It's that the legislature, the police, prosecutors, and judges are so fed up and angry about these types of crimes that they just started to lump all of these gang members together. Then, with a concerted effort, these guys can take people out.
They want to give them life without the possibility of parole, try to seek the death penalty under the right circumstances from their perspective, or get some huge double-digit sentence — whether it be over 20 years or 10 years. It's crucial to have a skilled defense attorney to fight for the best possible outcome in your case.
Experienced Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer
So, these cases are treated as the most serious in Los Angeles County. So, if you or a loved one is charged with murder in a gang drive-by shooting, you need to get a reasonable defense attorney who knows these types of cases.
Having done this for 26 years, I think attorneys need to learn how to handle these cases, have had success with them, and have had experience with them.
A lot of lawyers are afraid to handle these cases. I can't tell you how many times I've taken one of these cases after the preliminary hearing, and I ask the defendant or his family why the other lawyer is not staying on the case.
They say the other lawyer said he couldn't handle the case. He shouldn't have dealt with the preliminary hearing then because that's a critical stage of the proceeding.
It's like a mini-trial. It's an opportunity to cross-examine witnesses and do everything you can to try to set the case up for a trial if that's where the case is headed.
So, if you need help with a loved one being charged with a drive-by murder gang shooting, pick up the phone. Make the call. I'll do everything I can to help you.
