State Senate Panel OKs Stiffer Prison Sentences for Carjackers

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of stiffer penalties for carjackers.

The bill would create a new state crime of carjacking and calls for prison terms ranging from three to nine years. Carjackers would be subject to increased sentences if they hurt their victims or used a deadly weapon.

Approved on an 8-0 vote, the proposal by Sen. Robert B. Presley (D-Riverside), a former undersheriff, was sent to the Appropriations Committee for another hearing. A similar measure is pending in the Assembly.

The Judiciary Committee was told by representatives of police, prosecutors and other law enforcement agencies that carjackers are a new breed of predators who attack vulnerable motorists.

“In Los Angeles, (carjacking) is now part of the initiation rite for young gang members,” testified Al Cooper, representing the California Peace Officers, Police Chiefs and State Sheriffs associations.

Other witnesses said carjackers are more dangerous than common car thieves because they “set upon” innocent motorists for the thrill of the crime rather than stealing the vehicle for transportation or other purposes. Many carjackers abandon the stolen cars immediately, the committee was told.

“There is no safe haven,” said San Diego County Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald J. MacNeil, noting that the attacks often occur at stop lights, in parking lots and even the drive-through lines of fast-food restaurants. “They are happening everywhere. The hallmark is to terrorize an individual.”

Carjackers are often charged with second-degree robbery, which carries a prison term of two to four years. Federal law calls for sentences of 15 to 25 years for hijacking a vehicle, but MacNeil said U.S. attorneys in Los Angeles are too busy with other cases to prosecute carjackers.