What Are the Penalties for Driving-By Shootings?
In California, if you are convicted of a drive-by shooting, you can face substantial penalties. In fact, you do not even have to be the person who pulled the trigger to face jail time. Drive-by shootings can also lead to additional charges such as assault with a firearm, shooting at an inhabited dwelling, or even murder. The specific facts of your case and the crime you are convicted of can mean the difference between summary probation and life in prison.
What Is Considered a Drive-By Shooting?
The laws in California criminalize any purposeful shooting from a vehicle. Since the car does not have to be in motion for drive-by shooting laws to apply, if you willfully and maliciously shoot a gun from inside a vehicle, you can be convicted of a drive-by shooting. An automatic provision increases the penalties if you aim at another individual from within a car.
However, you do not have to pull the trigger to commit a crime. California also criminalizes allowing someone else to bring a gun into your car, and there are additional punishments if another person shoots a firearm from within your vehicle. You can face charges if you are either the driver or owner of the car under this section.
California defines motor vehicles broadly for its drive-by shooting laws. Motorcycles, scooters, buses, cars, trucks, and tractor-trailers are all considered motor vehicles.
What Is Willfully and Maliciously Firing a Gun?
You can defend yourself against a drive-by shooting charge by arguing that the weapon discharged accidentally. Because California only criminalizes malicious and willful drive-by shootings, you may not be guilty if you did not fire the gun on purpose.
However, if you were intending to do something wrong or commit some other action, you may have acted maliciously. For example, imagine you were brandishing the gun to scare someone else. If it goes off while in your hand, you may have trouble arguing it was an accident.
The Punishments for Various Drive-By Shooting Violations
The lightest punishment is reserved for those who only let someone else bring a gun into their car, whereas the harshest penalties are for anyone who aims at another person and pulls the trigger.
If you are convicted of allowing another individual to bring a gun into your car, you will face misdemeanor punishments, including:
- Up to six months in jail.
- A $1,000 fine.
However, if you allow your passenger to shoot a gun from within your car, you can face either misdemeanor or felony charges. On the lowest end, the penalties include:
- Up to a year in county jail.
- A $1,000 fine.
As a felony, allowing a drive-by shooting from your vehicle has the following maximum sentence:
- Up to three years in state prison.
- A $10,000 fine.
If you pull the trigger without aiming at anyone, you also can face misdemeanor or felony charges. The penalties available are the same whether you allowed the gun to be fired or pulled the trigger yourself. In practice, shooting the weapon will result in harsher sentences.
Finally, if you aim at someone else and shoot from a motor vehicle, you will face a felony charge. Punishment for this crime tops out at:
- Up to seven years in state prison.
- A $10,000 fine.
If you aimed not at a person but an inhabited dwelling, you can also face additional charges. Punishments for that crime will be added to the drive-by shooting charge and can result in more years in prison.
Do you need to fight a drive-by shooting charge in Long Beach, California? Contact Chambers Law Firm today to schedule a free consultation with our skilled legal defense team. Call 714-760-4088 or email dchambers@clfca.com today.
