Early Tuesday Morning, a 34-year-old La Puente man was driving his silver Toyota Carolla through La Puente when someone flagged him down from the side of the road. As the man pulled over, the suspect who flagged him down produced a gun, pointed it at the victim, and demanded that he exit the vehicle. The victim complied as two other individuals showed up and got in the car with the gunman.
At around 8:30 am, the victim was driving around La Puente in another car when he spotted his vehicle and the suspects. Upon noticing that they were being followed, the suspects ditched the vehicle and fled on foot. The suspects, John Carillo, 19, James Carillo, 19, and Oscar Torres, 20, were all arrested a short time later and are facing carjacking charges.
Carjacking is covered under California Penal Code 215 PC and is described as taking a car from another person by means of force or fear. Interestingly, the person who the car is taken from can be the driver or the passenger and doesn’t even need to own the car. To be charged with carjacking, one must simply take control of a vehicle from another person using force or fear.
Carjacking is a felony in California, and the possible penalties include up to 1 year in county jail or 3 to 9 years in California state prison and a maximum fine of $10,000. These penalties are applied for each victim that is present at the time of the carjacking.
Due to the fact that the suspects allegedly used a gun during the carjacking, they may face a sentencing enhancement under California’s 10-20-life “use a gun and you’re done” law. Under this law, if a person uses a gun to commit a crime, they face an additional 10 years added to their sentence. If they fire a gun during the commission of a crime, they face an additional 20 years, and if they seriously injure or kill someone with a gun, they face an additional 25 years to life.
