Vista & San Diego Violent Crimes Attorney

Some of the Most Common Violent Crimes in Vista

In general, violent criminal offenses carry stiff penalties in California and require a lawyer experienced in defending serious legal violations like these. There are many different violent crimes in California, and each carries distinct penalties and requires a unique method of defense. These are some of the most commonly charged types of violent offenses in Vista and the rest of San Diego County:

Assault and 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 their consent. Assault is 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 primarily on how serious any resulting injuries were. If “great bodily injury” occurs, battery becomes a strike under the three strikes law. Penalties may include jail, prison time, fines, probation or parole, and other consequences.

It is worth noting that mutual combat is not technically legal in California but prosecutors will rarely file charges in these cases unless one party suffers dramatically worse injuries than the other.

Gun Laws and Other Weapon Offenses

Commonly violated gun laws in California include having a concealed firearm, unlawfully discharging a firearm, brandishing a firearm, possession of an unregistered firearm, carrying an unlicensed firearm, shooting at an inhabited dwelling or vehicle, 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 possessing or using a machine gun or silencer. While most knives and swords are legal to carry with you, it is illegal to conceal the weapon.

Similarly, some people are subject to additional weapons restrictions. For example, those convicted of any felony, or misdemeanor gang crimes, domestic violence, or hate crimes cannot possess firearms; and those convicted of any felonies cannot have 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 consequences. Additionally, using a firearm while committing certain crimes can add more prison time of 10, 20 or 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 and hate crimes are not actual criminal charges in California but “enhancements” to other offenses, 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 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 to join a gang is enough.

Prosecutors may add hate crime enhancements to a charge if they believe you targeted the victim based on their 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 those protected characteristics, they can face hate crime charges.

For either enhancement, those charged with a misdemeanor will be convicted of a felony instead. 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 notably serious crimes such as drive-by shootings or murders, gang crime laws add an extra 10 years of prison time to the sentence, rather than the standard four. Additionally, those convicted of a gang-related felony will have a strike added to their record.

Someone could face both gang crime and hate crime enhancements if the prosecution believes they were acting on behalf of a gang and targeted someone based on one of the protected characteristics. For example, suppose a man commits felony battery on a Jewish person to join a white power gang. In that case, he could face both enhancements, potentially adding seven years and a strike to the sentence for the initial battery charge.

Murder, Manslaughter, and Vehicular Homicide

Murder is the unlawful, unjustified, intentional killing of a human being. However, California’s felony murder law means that people can face these charges if they accidentally kill someone during the commission of certain felony offenses. Manslaughter is the 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 is 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 2nd-degree murder and 25 years to life imprisonment for 1st-degree murder, which involves premeditation and deliberation. If “special circumstances” apply to 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 is punishable by a prison sentence or probation.

While assisted suicide is legal in California, the aid can only come from a licensed physician, and the patient must 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 narrow scope of legal assisted suicide, you could face murder charges.