On Wednesday, January 31, three women at a Sherman Oaks nail salon were assailed by a man believed to be connected with a carjacking and robbery that occurred earlier that same day. The LAPD recently released CCTV footage showing the suspect, G. Arando, striking the women with his fists at Bio Laque Nails. According to police, the suspect “punched the victims several times.” The footage shows the women fighting their assailant hand-to-hand, when eventually he was hit over the head with folding chairs. The assailant also struck one of the victims with a chair. The fight ended when employees from a neighboring shop entered the nail salon and helped subdue the suspect until police arrived.
Carjacking is covered under California Penal Code 215 PC and is described as taking a vehicle from someone else using force or fear. The person from whom the car is taken doesn’t necessarily have to be the driver, it’s possible to be charged with carjacking if the person the car was taken from was a passenger. Additionally, to use “force or fear” means that the suspect would have had to actually inflict physical force on the person the car was taken from, or the suspect threatens to inflict immediate personal harm.
Carjacking is a felony, and the penalties include probation up to one year in county jail or 3, 5 or 9 years in California state prison and a maximum $10,000 fine.
Robbery is covered under California Penal Code 211 PC and is described as taking personal property from someone else’s person, or immediate presence, using force or fear. Like carjacking, using force or fear must result in physical force being applied to the victim, or they must be placed in a state of fear resulting from threats. However, it’s also possible to be charged with robbery after drugging someone and taking their possessions while they are unconscious.
The penalties for robbery include 2 to 9 years in California state prison.
