Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: being accused of a different crime after being charged with another

The technical answer to your question is 'yes', the D.A. can charge your son with murder. The truth is, there is no limit to what any particular prosecutor will try. Whether it is legally well-founded for the D.A. to do so is a more relevant question.

If my memory serves me, an individual who dies sometime after recieving a life-threatening wound must do so within one year of receiving the wound in order for the person who inflicted the wound to be tried for murder. This, of course, is in the absence of other circumstances, such as the victim being in a coma from a gunshot and never recovering. I hope you would have mentioned something like that if it were the case. I may be mis-remembering this, so check with another attorney or wait for more answers from this billboard.

This real issue is whether the death of the victim can be directly and causally connected to the action of the accused murderer. Without any more facts, I couldn't give you a more clear answer. It seems that dying eight years after receiving a wound is far too remote for a prosecutor (D.A.) to be successful in a murder prosection. Again, you have only given bare minimum facts, so do not rely entirely on what I have said. Consult an experienced criminal defense attorney to more fully discuss your son's case.

Re: being accused of a different crime after being charged with another

Yes it can, and he has a serious problem to deal with promtly. Issues include whether he will be tried in juvenile or adult court. Contact me if interested in obtaining counsel to protect his rights.