Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: criminal law

What is your question?

You said you testified against him - did you testify at the preliminary hearing or are you talking about the statement you gave the police?

If you have information you think may help your boyfriend, contact his attorney and make arrangements to give a statement to their investigator.

I don't know what you mean by "no one wants to go to jury." If the DA has filed charges, they have to be ready and able to prove the case against your boyfriend. Is it your boyfriend and his attorney that are worried about going to trial and losing, subjecting your boyfriend to a higher sentence?

Straight kidnap carries 3, 5 or 8 years in prison. Add the one year prior [667.5(b)] and his maximum as you describe is 9 years. If it's a different kidnap (such as kidnap to commit a sexual offense), then it could be life in prison.

You are certainly welcome to contact your boyfriend's attorney or the DA to let them know you have information about the case. A word of caution - if you recant your statement to the police, the DA will likely threaten to charge you with Penal Code section 148.5, a misdemeanor for filing a false police report. If that's the case, you have a right to have an attorney represent you and you may have Fifth Amendment rights not to testify without immunity. If you testified under oath at a preliminary hearing and are planning on testifying differently at trial, that is potential perjury (a felony). You would again be entitled to an attorney to represent you for the Fifth Amendment issues.

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