Take Advantage of Criminal Defense Tips When Charged with a Gang Crime

Under California Penal Code 186.22, any person who commits a crime while involved with a known street gang, motorcycle gang, or neighborhood gang may be sentenced to an additional one to three years in jail. The legal name for this sentencing is gang enhancements. If a prosecutor presents evidence of your gang involvement, it is also considered one strike under California's Three Strike Law. Fortunately, the loose interpretation of what constitutes a gang means that Mitchell Law Group can usually find criminal defense tips for your case.

How Does California Define a Gang?

The state penal code identifies a gang as three or more people who seek identity and continuity of purpose. Either individually or as a group, these people have previously engaged in a predictable pattern of criminal activity. Some of the other criteria the state uses when considering gang enhancements include:

• You join a group with the knowledge that its main purpose is to commit crime. Even if you do not belong to a gang, you can face legal consequences for helping to promote it.
• Witnesses confirm that they regularly see you associating with known gang members.
• You have the gang's name tattooed on your body or you wear clothing or jewelry associated with the gang.
• You are photographed in close proximity to known gang members.
• You receive written or electronic communication from someone who is in a gang.
• You are observed flashing a gang symbol.

Defending You Against Trumped Up Charges

Just because you flash a gang symbol or someone takes your picture standing in the same space as a gang member does not mean that you are in a gang yourself. At Mitchell Law Group, we recognize that some of the ways of determining gang involvement don't stand up to legal scrutiny. We aggressively challenge this claim by insisting that prosecutors show real, tangible evidence that you actually committed a crime as a gang member. Please contact us as soon as possible to discuss additional defense strategies.