San Diego Violent Crimes Attorney

Some of the Most Common Violent Crimes

In general, violent criminal offenses carry stiff penalties in California and require a lawyer experienced in defending serious offenses like these. That being said, there are many different violent crimes in California and each one carries different penalties and will require a different method of defense. These are some of the most commonly charged types of violent offenses in San Diego County:

Assault & Battery

These are the most commonly charged violent crimes in San Diego. While often confused with one another, assault and battery are two distinct offenses. Battery means intentionally using force or violence on another person without his/her consent. Assault is basically the threat or attempted use of force paired with the ability to cause injury.

Battery can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, depending mostly on how serious any resulting injuries were. If “great bodily injury” is claimed, battery becomes a strike under the three strikes law. Penalties may include jail, prison time, fines, probation or parole, and other penalties.

Guns Laws & Other Weapon Offenses

Commonly violated gun laws in California include having a concealed firearm, unlawfully discharging a firearm, brandishing a firearm, carrying an unlicensed firearm, unlawful selling of a firearm, carrying guns and certain drugs at the same time, improper storing of a firearm and other criminal offenses.

When it comes to what weapons are illegal to possess in California, state law prohibits the possession of switchblades, assault weapons, brass knuckles, most concealed weapons and more. Additionally, the National Firearms Act prohibits possession or use of a machine gun or silencer.

Similarly, some people are subject to additional weapons restrictions. For example, those who have been convicted of any felony, as well as misdemeanor gang crimes, domestic violence or hate crimes, cannot possess firearms; and those convicted of any felonies cannot possess stun guns or pepper spray.

Penalties for violating weapons laws may include jail or prison, fines, loss of the right to own a deadly weapon, and other penalties. Additionally, using a firearm while committing certain crimes can add 10, 20 or even add 25 years to life to the penalty, depending on whether the gun was fired or if anyone was injured or killed.

Gang and Hate Crime Enhancements

Both gang crimes and hate crimes are similar in that they are not actual criminal charges in California, but are “enhancements” to other charges, meaning you cannot be found guilty of these accusations unless you are first convicted of another underlying charge. In the case of gang crimes, the prosecution must prove that you committed an offense related to some type gang activity. You do not need to be a gang member or be listed on the gang registry to face these enhancements -simply breaking the law to help a gang or in an effort to join a gang is enough.

Hate crime enhancements may be added to a charge if prosecutors believe you targeted the victim based on his or her race, ethnicity, origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. It does not matter whether or not the victim was a minority; if anyone attacks another person based on any of those protected characteristics, they can face hate crime charges.

For either enhancement, those charged with a misdemeanor will instead be convicted of a felony. In cases where the crime was already a felony, those convicted of a gang crime will have 4 years added to their sentence and those convicted of a hate crime will have 3 years added. For particularly serious crimes such as drive-by shootings or murders, gang crime laws allow for an extra 10 years of prison time, rather than the standard four. Additionally, those convicted of a gang-related felony will also have a strike added to their record.

It is worth mentioning that someone could face both gang crime and hate crime enhancements if the prosecution believed a person acting on behalf of a gang targeted someone based on one of the protected characteristics. For example, if a man committed felony battery on a Jewish person for the purposes of joining a white power gang, he could face both enhancements, which could add seven years and a strike to any other penalties he was sentenced to.

Murder, Manslaughter, & Vehicular Homicide

Murder is the unlawful, unjustified, intentional killing of a human being. Manslaughter is an unlawful killing of a human being without intent to kill. Vehicular homicide — also called vehicular manslaughter — means unlawfully killing another person with a vehicle without intent to kill. Attempted murder refers to an unsuccessful attempt to unlawfully and intentionally take someone’s life.

These crimes are legally complex with potentially severe penalties. Murder is punishable by 15 years to life for 2^nd degree murder and 25 years to life for 1^st degree murder, which involves premeditation and deliberation. If a “special circumstance” crime is committed during the course of the murder, the penalty is life without parole or the death penalty. In this context, special circumstances include:

• financial gain
• a previous murder conviction on your record
• escaping arrest
• murder of a witness or law enforcement officer
• torture
• the use of poison or a bomb
• lying in wait
• drive-by shooting
• deaths that occur during the commission of a felony
• murders performed as part of a hate crime or gang crime

Manslaughter or attempted murder may be punished with a prison sentence or probation.
It is worth mentioning that while assisted suicide is legal in California, the aid can only come from a licensed physician and the patient must both be terminally ill and not suffer from diminished mental capabilities. If you killed someone who wanted to die, even if they begged you to do so, and it falls outside the very limited scope of legal assisted suicide, you could face murder charges.

The Best Defenses to Violent Crimes

There are many different defenses to these criminal accusations and not every defense will apply to every situation, though in some cases, your attorney may choose to use multiple defenses. Never attempt to mount any defense without first speaking to your defense attorney. Also remember that police have all kinds of tricks they use to get people to confess or otherwise say things that can later be used against them, so you should never speak to any law enforcement officer without your criminal defense attorney present.

While sometimes the best option is agree to a plea bargain that will minimize the charges or sentencing you may face, other times it’s better to fight the accusations altogether. Some common defenses used in these types of criminal cases include:

You Were Acting in Self Defense

This is one of the most effective defenses in violent crimes cases because it fully shields you. That being said, to use this defense, you must show that you or someone else was in immediate danger and that you used no more force than necessary to stop the danger. If you were not actually in imminent danger and killed someone or if you used deadly force when not necessary, you may be able to use what’s known as imperfect self defense to argue that you should face manslaughter rather than murder charges. You can also use force to protect your property, but this defense does not work in cases where deadly force was used.

Challenging the Evidence

While shows like CSI may have convinced the public otherwise, there are many serious issues with forensic science. In fact, some studies show that blood splatter analysis may be complete junk science. Similarly, just because an eyewitness identified you doesn’t mean you are guilty as multiple studies have shown that eyewitness accounts can be highly unreliable.

Law Enforcement Errors or Misbehavior

If you were tricked into confessing after police denied you of your right to see an attorney or if your home was searched without a valid warrant, your attorney may be able to prohibit the resulting evidence from being used against you. In cases of grave misconduct or where there is too little remaining evidence to secure a conviction, the case may be dropped altogether.

An Alibi Backs Your Story

If someone has accused you of a crime, but you have a reliable alibi proving you could not have been at the crime scene during the time the crime was committed, this may be a critical piece of evidence showing your innocence.

The Incident Was a Result of an Accident

Most (though not all) violent crimes require the defendant to have acted with intent. So, for example, if you were playing baseball and someone leaned in to tell you something right as you swung the bat, you couldn’t be charged with battery no matter how badly he or she was injured.

You Were Acting Under Duress

If someone forced you to commit a crime by threatening your life or someone else’s, you can argue that you had no choice. This defense cannot be used in homicide cases though, as it is not considered valid to trade one life for another.

You Were Unaware You Were Breaking the Law

Again, this defense does not apply to all crimes, but some laws can only be broken if you were willingly breaking the law. A good example is if you were accused of possessing an illegal weapon. Even if you had an assault rifle with a silencer in your car, if your lawyer can reasonably argue that you did not know it was there, for example, you were able to show that someone put it there without your knowledge, you are not guilty.

A Parent’s Right to Discipline

This defense is only useful in cases involving alleged child abuse and even then, can only be used where it can be argued that the parent was using reasonable discipline, which excludes any cases where the parent punched, kicked, choked or caused a traumatic injury to the child. That being said, you may be able to argue that you were using no more force than necessary to discipline your child.