Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer Blog

According to KTLA, two Long Beach residents have been arrested on a suspicion of committing burglaries on the campuses of UCLA, UC Irvine and several other University of California campuses.

If you have been charged with burglary it is important to contact an aggressive Los Angeles burglary defense lawyer as soon as possible to protect your rights and begin preparing your defense.

Under California law, burglary is considered a type of theft crime. Burglary is defined as entering into a building with the intent to commit a crime - typically grand theft or petty theft. Grand theft applies to cases where the value of the item stolen is in excess of $400. In burglary cases, the prosecution need not prove that the accused actually committed a crime, just that the intent to do so existed. Burglary may be classified as first-degree or second-degree. First-degree burglary involves entering into a person's home with the intent to commit a crime, whereas second-degree burglary usually involves entering a persons business or a commercial building. First-degree burglary is always considered a strike under California's Three Strikes law. Second-degree burglary may be charged as a felony or misdemeanor.

UC Irvine police arrested Karim Patrice Davis and Angie Latoya Gray after obtaining search warrants based on information obtained by tracking credit cards. If convicted, they face potential prison time, restitution, steep fines and potential restrictions on their ability to work.

Davis and Gray are also suspected of committing burglaries at Cal State Long Beach, Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Fullerton.

Two other men - Jacob Amir Qureshi and Jason Walker - who were with Davis and Grey were arrested on outstanding misdemeanor warrants. Outstanding warrants are serious matters that need to be taken seriously. Many people believe that outstanding warrants may disappear with time. This is not the case. Outstanding warrants need to be taken care of - otherwise law enforcement has permission to arrest you immediately. Incidents that might not typically land you in jail may result in incarceration if the warrant is not resolved.

Continue reading "Long Beach Residents Arrested In Connection With UCLA And UC Irvine Burglaries" »

A recent California Supreme Court case - People v. Skiles - evaluated whether faxed evidence of a prior out-of-state conviction could be used to show a "strike" under California's Three Strikes law. In Skiles, a California man was convicted or residential burglary and receiving stolen property.

Under California law, residential burglary is considered "first-degree burglary" and requires the prosecution prove that you had the intent to commit a felony or theft before you enter someone's home. First-degree burglary is charged as a felony and constitutes a "strike" under California's "Three Strikes" law.

California's "Three Strikes" law is one of the harshest laws of its kind in the country. Not only will someone with two or more prior strikes be convicted to 25 years to life for any felony conviction, but also those convicted of a second "strike" must be sentenced to double the prison term of the current conviction.

Here, Skiles was convicted of residential burglary after a couple returned to their motel room and noticed that it had been burglarized. Witnesses stated that they had seen Skiles in the area and police found his fingerprints in the hotel room.

During the sentencing phase, the prosecutor introduced a single page of an indictment from Alabama for vehicular homicide. However, the document introduced did not contain a factual description of the charges. In order to gather more evidence that Skiles committed a serious felony, the prosecutor had the Alabama court fax a certified copy of the first page of the indictment, which described the charges in detail. Based on the faxed copy, Skiles' robbery conviction was considered a second strike and he was sentenced to 9 years for robbery.

Continue reading "People v. Skiles Holds That Faxed Copy Of Prior Out-of-State Felony Conviction Qualifies As Evidence Of A Serious Or Violent Felony Under California's Three Strikes Law" »

According to L.A. News, two suspects are wanted in connection with a downtown Los Angeles jewelry heist. The burglary occurred after the two men tunneled into a Broadway jewelry store and stole more than $3 million worth of merchandise.

If you have been arrested on the suspicion of any California crime, contact an experienced Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer at once to begin investigating the matter and preparing your defense.

Here, the two masked men allegedly burglarized the store - systematically emptying the display cases of high-quality jewelry.

In cases such as these, it is possible video-taped surveillance evidence may unfortunately lead to the arrest of the wrong men. Where images are unclear - or the men are in disguise - and the stakes are high, police and prosecutors may arrest the wrong people in their zeal to put solve a crime. The consequences for the accused can be serious, and in a burglary case include fines, jail time and damage to one's reputation in the community.

Continue reading "Los Angeles Jewelry Theft Of $3 Million In Merchandise" »