Violent Crimes
Being charged with a violent crime carries a heavy price in our society especially if you are innocent of the charges. You potentially face strong and lengthy criminal sentences. These types of charges can destroy your reputation, job relationships and personal relationships. These types of allegations quite simply destroy lives on both sides of the fence.
It is vital to hire an experienced criminal defense attorney when you are being charged with these crimes. It is equally as important when you are being investigated relating to accusations of violent conduct. You need someone experienced and aggressive like Gregory B. Pike to aggressively protect your rights from the start before any charges are filed. This can be the most crucial stage of any criminal case. Remember, anyone can accuse you of a violent crime and because of that you will be placed in a position to defend yourself. Whatever you do, resist the temptation to talk! Because of the complexity of this are of law and the severity of the punishments it is imperative that you immediately contact me, I am an experienced violent crimes attorney that can help.
Some of the most common violent crimes that I handle include:
** Three Strikes Law
This all started when the Legislature enacted a bill to ensure longer prison sentences and greater punishment for those who commit a felony and have been previously convicted of serious and/or violent offenses in the past.
11 months after the Legislature enacted this provision us voters approved Proposition 184 which placed the Three Strikes law in section 1170.12 of the Penal Code.
How does it work?
It’s simple; if you are convicted of a felony and you had one, two or more prior convictions that qualify as “strikes” you will be sentenced under the Three Strikes law. It works like this; if you have one prior conviction that qualifies as a strike you will receive a mandatory state prison sentence of twice the term. For example, if you are going to be sentenced to say 3 years in the state prison, you will be sentenced to 6 years (twice the term). If you have two or more prior convictions that qualify as strikes then you will receive a life sentence to state prison the minimum term of which will be 25 years, hence, 25 to life.
What qualifies as a strike?
Any offense defined in Penal Code Section 667.5 as a violent felony and any offense defined in Penal Code Section 1192.7 as a serious felony. They are too numerous to list here but if the prosecution is alleging a prior or current strike you can go to those sections to see if the alleged prior or current crime is listed as s strike offense. The list of offenses may be broader than listed in these sections as these sections frequently discuss crimes that may be strikes in terms of conduct rather than by code section. The focus is on the criminal conduct in section 1192.7 and not on whether a specific penal code section is listed.
NOTE: This section is very complex. It takes an experienced Three Strikes attorney to navigate through theses sections and chart the best course to protect your rights. As an experienced trial attorney of 25 years I always attack and challenge the validity of any strikes on your record. Yes, it is possible to have those strikes essentially removed for the purposes of the crime you are currently being charged with. In some cases what was considered as a strike is not really a strike at all.
Below are a listing of the Violent Crimes listed above, the code sections, the elements of each crime and the punishments attached to each one. It is not an exhaustive list but does give you the most serious ones.
Contact Me
Please scroll down and review them and if you have been charged with any violent crime or are currently being investigated for one you need to immediately contact Gregory B. Pike for a free consultation. He can be reached toll free at 1-888-387-1101 or by emailing him directly at gregorypike@gmail.com. Free Initial Consultation. Don’t wait until it’s too late!
ARSON
Arson can be prosecuted against anyone who either intentionally or recklessly does the acts proscribed in the code;
Section 451 of the Penal Code deals with intention acts;
Section 452 deals with reckless acts.
Penal Code Section 451 (Intentional Acts)
“A person is guilty of Arson when he or she willfully and maliciously sets fire to or burns or causes to be burned or aids, counsels, or procures the burning of, any structure, forest land, or property.”
Punishment under 451:
Arson that causes great bodily injury is a felony and is punishable in the state prison for 5, 7 or 9 years. (Subsection (a))
Arson that causes an inhabited structure or inhabited property to burn is a felony and is punishable in the state prison for 3, 5 or 8 years. (Subsection (b))
Arson of a structure or forest land is a felony punishable in the state prison for 2, 4 or 6 years. (Subsection (c))
Arson of property, not yours, with exceptions is a felony punishable in the state prison for 16 months, 2 or 3 years. (Subsection (d))
And, you will have to register with law enforcement as a convicted arsonist.
Punishment Enhancements of 3, 4 or 5 years added to any sentence above:
These enhancements have to be found true by the trier of fact for them to be added on to the sentence. (P.C. 451.1)
(1) If you have been previously convicted of a violation of this section or section 452 relating to reckless conduct.
(2) If a firefighter, peace officer or other emergency personnel suffered great bodily injury as a result of the offense.
(3) As to Section 451 only (willfully and maliciously sets or causes a fire) which proximately caused great bodily injury to more than one victim in any single violation of Section 451.
(4) If you cause more than one structure to burn.
(5) You committed arson to an inhabited structure or property, an uninhabited structure or forest, or by your acts caused great bodily injury and the arson was caused by the use of a devise designed to accelerate the fire or delay ignition.
Aggravated Arson: (Penal Code Section 451.5)
Aggravated Arson is when a person willfully, maliciously, deliberately and with premeditation, and with the intent to cause injury to one or more persons
or to cause damage to property under circumstances likely to produce injury to one or more persons.
or to cause damage to one or more structures or inhabited dwellings,
sets fire to, burns, or causes to be burned, or aids, counsels, or procures the burning of any residence, structure, forest land, or property
is guilty of aggravated arson, but only if one or more of the following factors exists:
(1) You have previously been convicted of arson on one or more occasions within the past 10 years
(2) The fire caused property damage or other losses in excess of $5,000,000.
(3) The fire caused damage to, or destruction of, 5 or more inhabited structures.
Punishment: 10 years to LIFE and Register with law enforcement as a convicted arsonist.
Penal Code Section 452 (Reckless Acts)
“A person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire when he recklessly sets fire to or burns or causes to be burned, any structure, forest land or property.”
Punishment
(a) Unlawfully causing a fire that causes great bodily injury is a felony punished by a term in State Prison for 2,4, or 6 years or in the county jail for no more than 1 year.
(b) Unlawfully causing a fire that causes an inhabited structure or inhabited property to burn is a felony punished by a term in the State Prison for 2,3, or 4 years or in the county jail for no more than 1 year.
'(c) Unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or a forest land is a felony punished by a term in the State Prison for 16 months, 2 or 3 years or in the county jail for no more than 6 months.
(d) Unlawfully causing a fire of property is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of 6 months in the county jail. This does not include burning or causing to be burned your own personal property unless there is injury to another person or to another person’s structure, forest land or property.
Punishment Enhancements of 1,24 or3 years added to any sentence above
For each of the following circumstances:
(1) You have been previously convicted of a felony in violation of either Section 451 or 452.
(2) A firefighter, peace officer, or other emergency personnel suffered great bodily injury as a result of the offense.
(3) You proximately caused great bodily injury to more than 1 victim in any single violation of Section 452.
(4) You proximately caused multiple structures to burn in any single violation of section 452.
Please note that Arson statutes are very complex and there are other circumstances that have not been set forth herein that are punishable in the State Prison. As such it is very important that you chose a Lawyer that has the experience to handle such complex situations. If you are charged with such a crime you need to contact the Law Offices of Gregory B. Pike and speak to Mr. Pike immediately to protect your rights.
All initial consultations are free and confidential.
Call toll free from anywhere at (888) 387-1101
CRIMINAL THREATS (Formally Terrorist Threats)
This is a complex Section that as a felony a “Strike.” As we know, 3 Strikes and you go away for 25 years to life! It is a somewhat misunderstood section due to what it requires to be in violation of it. It is, of course, fact driven so it is the intricate facts of the case that either make or break the case for the prosecution.
This is also a “Specific Intent” crime so if you didn’t have the specific intent required by the code section you can’t be found guilty of it assuming that element is not proven beyond a reasonable doubt by the prosecution.
Penal Code Section 422 (Criminal Threats)
“Any person who willfully threatens to commit a crime which will result in death or great bodily harm to another person, with the specific intent that the statement, made verbally, in writing, or by means of an electronic communication device, is to be taken as a threat, even if there is no intent of actually carrying it out, which, on its face and under the circumstances in which it is made, is so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific as to convey to the person threatened, a gravity of purpose and an immediate prospect of execution of the threat, and thereby causes that person reasonably to be in sustained fear for his or her immediate family’s safety…”
Punishment: State Prison for 16 months, 2 or 3 years or 1 year in the County Jail.
This is a “wobbler” as it can be pled as a misdemeanor or a felony. It is very fact driven and, as you can see, it is very complex in the various segments that have to be looked at very carefully when defending these types of cases.
Please note this statute is very complex. As such, it is very important that you chose a Lawyer that has the experience to handle such complex situations. If you are charged with such a crime you need to contact the Law Offices of Gregory B. Pike and speak to Mr. Pike immediately to protect your rights.
All initial consultations are free and confidential.
Call from anywhere toll free at (888) 387-110
Kidnapping
Penal Code section 207
" (a) Every person who Forcibly, or by any other means of instilling fear, steals or takes, or holds, detains, or arrests any person in this state, and carries the person into another country, is guilty of kidnapping.
(b) Every person, who for the purpose of committing any act defined in Section 288 (Lewd and Lascivious Acts) hires, persuades, entices, decoys, or seduces by false promises, misrepresentations, or the like, any child under the age of 14 years to go out of t his country, state, or county, or into another part of the same county, is guilty of kidnapping.
(C)
Punishment: 3, 5 or 8 years in the State Prison
5, 8 or 11 years if the person kidnapped is under the age of 14
(Exceptions apply to a biological parent, natural father, etc.)
Please note this statute is very complex. As such, it is very important that you chose a Lawyer that has the experience to handle such complex situations. If you are charged with such a crime you need to contact the Law Offices of Gregory B. Pike and speak to Mr. Pike immediately to protect your rights.
All initial consultations are free and confidential.
Call from anywhere toll free at 1-888-387-1101 or
you can email me at gregorypike@gmail.com
Mayhem/Torture
Mayhem
Penal Code section 203
"Every person who unlawfully and maliciously deprives a human being of a member of his body, or disables, disfigures, or renders it useless, or cuts or disables the tongue, or puts out an eye, or slits the nose, ear, or lip, is guilty of mayhem."
Punishment: State Prison for 2, 4 or 8 years
Penal Code Section 205 (Aggravated Mayhem)
"A person is guilty of aggravated mayhem when he or she unlawfully, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the physical or psychological well-being of another person, intentionally causes permanent disability or disfigurement of another human being or deprives a human being of a limb, organ, or member of his or her body. For purposes of this section, it is not necessary to prove an intent to kill."
Punishment: Life in the State Prison with the possibility of parole if it is aggravated mayhem
Torture
Penal Code Section 206
"Every person who, with the intent to cause cruel or extreme pain and suffering for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion, or for any sadistic purpose, inflicts great bodily injury as defined i Section 12022.7 upon the person of another, is guilty of torture.
Punishment: Life in the State Prison
Please note this statute is very complex. As such, it is very important that you chose a Lawyer that has the experience to handle such complex situations. If you are charged with such a crime you need to contact the Law Offices of Gregory B. Pike and speak to Mr. Pike immediately to protect your rights.
All initial consultations are free and confidential.
Call from anywhere toll free at 1-888-387-1101 or
you can reach me via email at gregorypike@gmail.com
Robbery
Penal Code Section 211
"Robbery is the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from his person or immediate presence and against his will, accomplished by means of force or fear."
What is "fear" as defined in the context of a Robbery? Well, it tells us in Penal Code Section 212; it may be either:
"1. The fear of an unlawful injury to the person or property of the person robbed, or of any relative of his or member of his family, or
2. The fear of an immediate and unlawful injury to the person or property of anyone in the company of the person robbed at the time of the robbery."
Degrees of Robbery
First Degree:
Robbery of any person performing his or her duties as an operator of an bus, taxicab, cable car, streetcar, trackless trolley, or other vehicle, including a vehicle operated on stationary rails or on a track or rail suspended in the air, and used for the transportation of persons for hire, every robbery of any passenger which is perpetrated on any of these vehicles and every robbery which is perpetrated in an inhabited dwelling house, a vessel which is inhabited and designed for habitation, an inhabited floating home, a trailer coach which is inhabited or the inhabited portion of any other building. (Penal Code Section 212.5)
Also, robbery of any person while using an automated teller machine or immediately after the person has used an automated teller machine and is in the vicinity of the automated teller machine.
Punishment: (Penal Code Section 213)
If the defendant, voluntarily acting in concert with two or more other persons, commits the robbery within an inhabited dwelling house, a vessel which is inhabited and designed for habitation, a trailer coach which is inhabited or the inhabited portion of any other building;
3, 6 or 9 years in the State Prison
3, 4 or 6 years in the State Prison in all other cases not specified above.
Second Degree:
Anything not listed as a First Degree robbery is a Second degree Robbery.
Punishment: (Penal Code Section 213)
2, 3 or 5 years in the State Prison
In addition Train Robbery is punishable as a felony for 16 months, 2 or 3 years in the State Prison.
Carjacking
Penal Code Section 215
**Interesting fact: You can be charged with both Carjacking and Robbery but you cannot be punished for both.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
These statutes are very complex. As such, it is very important that you chose a Lawyer that has the experience to handle such complex situations. If you are charged with such a crime you need to contact the Law Offices of Gregory B. Pike and speak to Mr. Pike immediately to protect your rights.
All initial consultations are free and confidential.
Call from anywhere toll free at (888) 387-110
Stalking
The crime of stalking is a very serious crime even though to many it would seem like a non-violent crime. Let’s take look at the language of the statute:
Penal Code Section 646.9
“(a) Any person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows or willfully and maliciously harasses another persona and who makes a credible threat with he intent to place that person in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of his or her immediate family..”
Punishment: County jail for no more than 1 year or in the State Prison for 16 months, 2 or 3 years.
If you violate this section and there is a temporary restraining order in place or other order prohibiting this type of behavior you could go to State Prison for up to 4 years.
And, if you have been convicted of a Domestic Violence or Criminal Threats crime and you violate this section you can be punished up to 5 years in the State Prison!
Please note this statute is very complex. As such, it is very important that you chose a Lawyer that has the experience to handle such complex situations. If you are charged with such a crime you need to contact the Law Offices of Gregory B. Pike and speak to Mr. Pike immediately to protect your rights.
All initial consultations are free and confidential.
Call from anywhere toll free at 1-888-387-1101 or
you can reach me via email at gregorypike@gmail.com
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