§ 215 PC – Carjacking – California Law & Penalties

California Penal Code § 215 PC makes it a felony to carjack, which is taking a vehicle from another person’s immediate possession through the use of force or fear. “Force or fear” means physical violence or threats of harm against the driver or a passenger.

Carjacking carries three, five, or nine years in California State Prison. However, the sentence increases if there are aggravating circumstances such as if you used a weapon.

In this article, our criminal defense attorneys discuss what you need to know about California’s carjacking law:

• 1. Elements of 215 PC
• 2. Defenses
• 3. Penalties
• 4. Related Crimes
• Additional Reading

1. Elements of 215 PC

For you to be convicted of carjacking, prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following four elements of California Criminal Jury Instruction (“CALCRIM”) 1650:

1. A person had possession of a car,
2. You took that car from their immediate presence (or from the passenger’s immediate presence) against their will,
3. You used force or fear, and
4. You intended to deprive that person of that car permanently or temporarily.¹

We take a closer look at some of these terms below.

“Possession” Meaning

A person possesses a car by being in physical or constructive control of it. Therefore a person possesses their car not only by driving it; they can also possess it by keeping it in their garage or other location they have control over.

“Immediate Presence” Meaning

“Immediate presence” means that the car is within the alleged victim’s reach, observation or control, so that they could keep the car if they were not overcome by force or fear.⁵ This meaning actually broadens the scope of California carjacking law beyond scenarios where the victim was driving or inside of the car.

Example: A woman wakes up in the middle of the night when she hears the engine of her truck start. She runs out into the driveway where her truck is parked, and a masked man is in the driver’s seat. As the masked man speeds off in it, the woman demands that he give her truck back as she jumps into the back of the truck. While the masked man drives, he threatens to hurt her. Now fearing the masked man’s temper, she gets out of the truck.

Although it seems like this would be an example of grand theft auto (“GTA”), it became a carjacking when the masked man resorted to fear to retain possession of the truck.²

“You Took the Car” Meaning

When you “take” a car from another person, it means that you

1. take possession of the car and
2. move the car, even if only a slight distance.

If for whatever reason you are unable to move the car, you can still be convicted of attempted carjacking, as long as the prosecutor can prove the remaining elements of the offense.³

“Against Their Will” Meaning

“Against their will” means without the victim’s consent. A person “consents” to something when they do so freely and voluntarily, not under the influence of force or fear. It requires:

• free will and
• positive cooperation.⁴

Unless an alleged victim willingly hands over their car, you took it without their consent.

“Force or Fear” Meaning

For purposes of California’s carjacking law, the terms “force” and “fear” mean the same thing. Courts have held that “the coercive effect of fear induced by threats is in itself a form of force.”⁵

“Fear” is fear of harm to a victim’s

• person,
• property,
• family or
• people/property that are present at the scene of the incident.⁶

As one court put it, “The element of fear is satisfied when there is sufficient fear to cause the victim to comply with the unlawful demand for his/her property.”⁷ Therefore, a victim’s attempts to resist do not disprove the claim that you used force or fear.⁸

In addition, the victim does not even need to be consciously aware that you were using force or fear to take possession of their car. For example, you could still be convicted of carjacking if there were an infant in the vehicle or if there was an unconscious person in the car.⁹

“The Intent to Deprive” Meaning

In general, California theft offenses require an intent to deprive the owner of the stolen property for good. However, California’s carjacking law requires an intent to deprive the owner/passenger of their car either

• permanently or
•  temporarily.¹⁰

It is irrelevant whether you “carjack” someone’s car in order to

• keep it for yourself,
• sell it or
• just to “borrow” it for a short period.

Mistaken identity is a common defense in carjacking cases.

2. Best Defenses

Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with car theft crimes, including carjacking. In our experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries at getting 215 PC charges reduced or dismissed.

1. You did not use force or fear. For example, taking another person’s car while no one is around is not carjacking since you did not have to use force or fear. However, you could be guilty of grand theft auto or joyriding.
2. The driver consented. If someone willingly lends you their car, and you then fail to return it, no carjacking occurred because you the driver let you take it. As with the prior defense, however, the act of not returning it could subject you to charges of grand theft auto or joyriding.
3. You are the victim of mistaken identity. Carjacking is a startling and stressful event which detracts from people’s ability to correctly identify the perpetrator. Therefore, many carjacking suspects get misidentified in a lineup and wrongly accused. In these cases, we would question the witness’s ability to have perceived, remember and identify our client. We may even want to call an eyewitness identification expert witness at trial to explain all the reasons that such identifications are unreliable.

Note that even if you are the true owner of the car, you are not allowed to use force or fear in order to regain it from someone else in possession of the car. This is because California criminal law considers carjacking a crime against possession, not ownership.

Example: The defendant wanted to get back together with his ex-girlfriend. One morning, he hid in her car, and when she approached and began screaming, he got out of the car, grabbed her, and forced her into the car. He then drove toward the California/Mexico border where he was ultimately arrested. He claimed that he was part owner of the car and, as a result, he had a “claim of right” to it and therefore was not guilty of carjacking.

The court disagreed, stating that, “the fact that carjacking does not require proof of an intent to deprive the victim of a motor vehicle permanently [strengthens the fact] that carjacking is strictly a crime against possession rather than ownership. As such, it is not subject to a “claim of right” defense.”¹¹

Carjacking is a felony in California.

3. Penalties

Carjacking in violation of 215 PC is a violent felony carrying a base penalty of three, five, or nine years in California State Prison and up to $10,000 in fines.¹² You face this punishment for each victim that is present in the car at the time of the carjacking.¹³

In addition, you may face enhanced sentences if there were aggravating factors, as the following table shows.¹⁴

Felony Murder Rule

If a person dies as a logical result of you or an accomplice committing a carjacking, California’s felony-murder rule automatically holds you responsible for first-degree murder.²⁸ Therefore, it does not matter whether you directly killed the victim (such as with a gun), or if the victim died from a heart attack from the stress of the event.¹⁵

Immigration

Carjacking is an “aggravated felony.” Therefore, non-citizens convicted of violating 215 PC face deportation from the U.S.¹⁶

California carjacking suspects often face several related charges, including robbery.

Related Crimes

Depending on the circumstances surrounding the offense, there are a number of crimes that California prosecutors may charge in addition to – or in lieu of – carjacking.

• Assault with a deadly weapon (245(a)(1) PC) – attacking or attempting to attack another person with a weapon capable of causing death or great bodily injury.
• Auto burglary (459 PC) – entering a locked automobile or its trunk with the intent either to steal the car, steal property in the car, or commit any other felony inside the vehicle.
• Battery (242 PC) – using force or violence upon another.
• Battery with serious bodily injury (243 PC) – using force or violence upon another, resulting in the victim sustaining substantial physical harm.
• Grand theft auto (487(d)(1) PC) – taking someone else’s vehicle, worth $950 or more, without permission, with the intent to deprive the true owner of the vehicle.
• Joyriding (10851 VC) – unlawfully taking or driving a car that does not belong to you but with no intent to deprive the owner of the car permanently.
• Kidnapping during a carjacking (209.5 PC) – during a carjacking, moving the victim a substantial distance, and the movement increases harm to the victim.
• Robbery (211 PC) – taking someone else’s property from the person’s body or immediate possession when accomplished by force or fear.

Penal Code 215 PC prohibits taking a vehicle through force or fear in California.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Carjacking – United States Attorneys’ Bulletin article about carjacking laws.
• Carjacking and its consequences: A situational analysis of risk factors for differential outcomes – Security Journal.
• Perceived Sanction Threats and Projective Risk Sensitivity: Auto Theft, Carjacking, and the Channeling Effect – Justice Quarterly.
  
• Carjacking: Scope, Structure, Process, and Prevention – Annual Reviews of Criminology.
• “It takes skills to take a car”: Perceptual and procedural expertise in carjacking – Aggression and Violent Behavior.

For tips on how not to become a carjacking victim, refer to the articles Carjacking Prevention by crimedoctor.com and Avoiding Carjacking by the Insurance Information Institute.

Legal References: