It's not uncommon when I defend people who are charged with a home invasion under Penal Code 459 robbery that they're also charged with kidnapping under Penal Code 207.
This is because once they get into the house, if there are people inside, that's usually where you'll get a home invasion versus a burglary. After all, people are present.
Then they have to deal with those people, which usually means either tying them up, somehow making them move to another room, or locking them in a location. Once you start to move people around during a crime and the course of a home invasion robbery, you put yourself in a position where you're going to get charged with kidnapping.
Potential Life in Prison Sentence
Kidnapping is moving somebody against their will. The unfortunate thing about kidnapping and robbery charges together is you're usually looking at life in prison. If a gun was used to commit a crime, it adds ten years to any sentence.
So you or a loved one, if they're charged with kidnapping and home invasion robbery, the prosecutors usually have so much firepower against them as far as what they could potentially get if they were to go to trial and lose that they end up being very tough when it comes to negotiation.
So, as a defense attorney, you need to set your client apart from other defendants who commit similar types of offenses because kidnapping and robbery are some of the worst crimes that can be committed.
When you're talking about going into somebody's home, judges and prosecutors can relate to that because they usually own homes and would never want anybody to come into their home where their family and their loved ones are and commit this type of crime.
Preparing Mitigation Package
So, that's what you're up against. You really need to come up with a game plan that makes sense based on the defendant's situation, whether that be you or one of your loved ones.
A lot of times, we'll get family members to write character letters and do other sensible things to show the prosecutor and the judge that this person is not a horrible person.
This is not somebody who deserves to go away for life or get a double-digit sentence, which is usually what prosecutors talk about regarding these cases.
So, I will typically do it if the person is in custody — and a lot of times they are — because if you're looking at life imprisonment, You're charged with home invasion, robbery, and kidnapping. Your bail will often be so high that the family cannot post the bail, so the person is in custody.
So, once I'm retained, I'll have to get all the paperwork and review it so I know what the case is all about, at least from the police's perspective.
I often like to talk to the prosecutors to see what they have to say about the case. Once I'm armed with that information then I can go and talk to the defendant, see what they have to say about it.
Then, I will let them know what they're being accused of and try to get down to the nitty-gritty of what we're going to do to get the best possible result if you're charged with home invasion robbery and kidnapping in Los Angeles County.
