Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Can I beat attempted murder since I was the driver the shooter just starting shooting cause he wanted to someone.Havent been charge yet.Shooter on the run.Did tel the cops what happen.I have a strike from a robbery that happen 5 years ago.I didn't plan or agree to shoot at someone just giving my friends a ride home.


Asked on 6/08/16, 1:53 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

You need experienced counsel ASAP. I don't have enough facts to say whether you could beat an attempted murder charge. That you were the driver and not the shooter is not enough.

Speaking with the police was a serious mistake unless you had a lawyer with you. Your statements can be used against you when and if you're prosecuted. They may have made you seem guilty, regardless of whether you actually are.

If you had no reason to believe your passenger was going to do something like this, then you're innocent. (That you didn't actually know it would happen isn't enough, if something along these lines was reasonably foreseeable.) But if the circumstances make you look guilty, you may well be charged and even convicted.

What those charges might be will also depend on the facts. There could be multiple charges. Some or all of them may carry sentencing enhancements. And your strike makes it likely that any sentence you get will be doubled.

Hire an experienced criminal defense attorney right away if at all possible. Even if you're never charged, you will want legal advice when and if you're called upon to give further statements and/or to testify. If you can't afford a lawyer, the court will appoint one for you when and if you are arraigned. But you shouldn't wait for that to happen.

Contact your county's public defender's office and ask them what you should do while you wait to find out if you'll be charged. (The PD probably won't be able to represent both you and the shooter; if you're both charged and neither of you can afford counsel, the court will appoint someone else to represent one of you.) And stop discussing the case with anyone -- especially the police, prosecutor, etc. -- until you have counsel.

Good luck.

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Answered on 6/08/16, 12:06 pm


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