(b) Any person who threatens another person with physical violence on two or more different occasions within 30 days with the intention of forcing, inciting or requiring a person to actively participate in a criminal street gang within the meaning of article 186.22 (f) shall be punished by deprivation of liberty in a State prison for two persons: three or four years. Penal Code 186.22 PC, known as the Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention (STEP) Act, is California`s street gang improvement law. Section 186.22 of the California Penal Code was passed as part of California`s Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act (“STEP”), which seeks to impose harsher penalties for crimes related to gangs and gang activity. The Measures Act provides that if you participate in any of the above crimes as a gang member or employee, or if you assist a gang in participating in those crimes, you may be convicted of the crime and receive an additional sentence for aiding or abetting a street gang. The law also states that if it can be proven that you are joining a group whose members are involved in the above actions, you could receive a harsher sentence if you are convicted of a crime, including a crime that is not on the list of crimes under section 186.22(e) of the Criminal Code. One of the elements of an indictment of 186.22 is gang affiliation. Maybe you know gang members just because they live near you. If friendship with gang members is a determining factor in gang affiliation, an experienced lawyer may argue that you are not involved in your neighbors` gang affiliation and that you are not encouraging gang activity. The violation will result in another three years up to state prison for life. This period is served in addition to and subsequently the sentence that the defendant receives for the underlying crime.
The wording of the law is vague and the courts are divided on the interpretation of the third element. Some courts of appeal have held that you must deal with gang members when you commit a crime, while others have held that if you are a gang member or partner and two of the elements of paragraph 186.22(a) have been met, the element of supportive criminal behaviour can be fulfilled even if you are acting alone when you have committed a crime. Gang involvement is illegal under Section 186.22(a) of the California Penal Code. To prove this crime, a prosecutor must establish the following: If you are convicted of a crime and the Criminal Code 186.22 is applied to tighten the sentence, you can expect two, three or four years in jail in addition to the sentence for the crime itself. Prosecutors must prove several elements to convict you of gang membership and promotion of criminal behaviour – section 186.22(a) of the Criminal Code or of improving the sentence of gang membership – section 186.22(b) of the Criminal Code. Section 186.22 of the Criminal Code defines certain crimes related to gang activity. People are sentenced to jail or imprisonment under this act if they participate in a gang while promoting a crime or commit a crime in favor of a gang. California Penal Code 186.22 PC states that anyone who intentionally participates in gang activity or joins other members while committing a crime may violate gang improvement laws. The maximum improvement that can be imposed under this law is six years in prison. As with gang enhancement under section 186.22 of the Regulations, a defendant serves the additional sentence under that Act immediately after conviction for the underlying crime. At Aizman Law Firm, our attorneys have extensive experience in defending clients charged under California Penal Code 186.22 pc, and in consultation with our clients, we develop the most effective defense strategy for your case.
Since a gang affiliation charge was found to be extremely prejudicial to the jury, your defense attorney can file a motion for a two-part trial. This means that your study will be conducted in two parts. You will be tried for the alleged crime and, if convicted, you will have a trial to determine if you committed the crime in violation of Penal Code 186.22 (b). The jury would know nothing about the allegation of gang building unless you are convicted of the crime. Criminal Code 186.22 prohibits the criminal activity of street gangs in California. Specifically, this article makes it a crime: the prosecution must also prove that you aided and abetted a crime or that you committed a crime and that you are a gang member or partner. It does not have to be one of the crimes listed in Section 186.22(e) of the California Penal Code. The above facts are often used by prosecutors to accuse defendants of actively participating in a gang. But active participation is only one necessary element to convict you of violating California Penal Code 186.22(a). To be considered a principal activity, the crime must be one of the main or principal activities of the group and not an occasional act committed by one or more persons who happen to be members of the group.
A pattern of gang criminal activity typically includes at least two or more crimes listed above, two or more separate occasions involving two or more individuals that occurred within three years, and at least one crime committed after September 1988. Typically, these types of crimes can be things like theft, murder, and attacking with a lethal weapon, among many other crimes. What is also interesting is that it is not necessary to prove that the crimes you committed were even gang-related, but only that it is a crime listed above and that it fits the definition of gang above. As mentioned earlier, Criminal Code 186.22 CP describes a criminal street gang as any group or organization that has 3 or more individuals with a common name or symbol whose primary activity is to commit certain crimes as part of a criminal activity. The penalties under section 186.22 vary depending on whether you are charged with the crime of membership or are charged with a crime, with gang building associated with your crime. (a) any building or place used by members of a criminal street gang for the purpose of committing the offences listed in paragraph (e) of section 186.22 or an offence involving dangerous or lethal weapons, burglary or rape, and any building or place where such criminal conduct by gang members takes place is a nuisance; which must be ordered, mitigated and avoided and for which it is possible to remedy the damage, whether it is a public or private nuisance. A judge will order gang reinforcement under PC 186.22b if: Juries who also live in a neighborhood where police harassment is commonplace and who usually sympathize with the accused are hostile when the charges are gang-related because they live in fear of gang violence. In other words, a jury can be torn between fear of the police and fear of criminal street gangs. If gang affiliation is alleged, the jury may be biased against the accused. An experienced defense attorney can file a change of location request to ensure the jury is not affected by a charge of gang membership under California Penal Code Section 186.22.
Section 186.22(a) of the Criminal Code is a flawed element, which means that he can be charged with a crime or misdemeanour. This is an important example of why it`s important to have an experienced and qualified defense attorney who can plead on your behalf if you`re charged with a California Penal Code 186.22 offense. (f) (1) any firearm, ammunition that may be used with the firearm or any lethal or dangerous weapon belonging to a member of a criminal street gang or held by a member of a criminal street gang for the purpose of committing any of the offences listed in clause (e) of section 186.22 or committing a burglary or rape, may be seized by any law enforcement agency or peace commissioner. In order to convict you of violating Penal Code 186.22(a), the Crown must prove that you have specific knowledge of gang activity. It`s hard to prove what someone knows or doesn`t know, and your criminal defense attorney may argue that you had no knowledge of gang-related activities. (3) A conviction for the offence referred to in clause (e) of section 186.22 was first obtained by the person to whom the firearm was delivered, sold, held or controlled in accordance with this section. To convict you of violating Penal Code 186.22(a), the prosecutor must prove beyond a doubt that you did anything to support or encourage the criminal conduct of a criminal street gang, either by aiding and abetting a gang member who you knew would commit a crime, or by committing a crime yourself. Your defense lawyer may argue that you did not help commit a crime, or if you committed a crime, you did not do so to help a street gang, but acted as a free agent.
