Articles Posted in Assault

Bad news always comes as a shock. Most recently,  Lyft just admitted to receiving well over 4,000 cases of sexual assault.

And that’s just from 2017 to 2019 – and the more we dig, the more gruesome their history gets.

Riders have experienced many types of violence by Lyft drivers including:

Gun Law Enhancement

Gun Law Enhancements Can Result in Lengthy Sentences.

LET’S TALK CRIMINAL GUN ENHANCEMENTS (AB1509)

Under California gun laws, a sentence for a felony case can be “enhanced” if a gun was possessed or used during the commission of a crime. These laws can extend sentences well beyond the maximum punishment for the principal crime itself. If there are multiple enhancements or more than one enhancement, the punishment imposed will be the longest possible sentence. 

CDC Prisoners

CDC Prisoners seeking early release via the granting of parole.

LA DA GEORGE GASCON CONTINUES TO MAKE WAVES WITH PAROLE CHANGES

Since being sworn in as Los Angeles County District Attorney in December 2020, George Gascon has hardly been out of the headlines. From eliminating sentence enhancements for hate crimes and dismissing gang enhancements to removing firearm allegations and continuing to push for resentencing and sentence commutation; Gascon has shown himself to maintain a progressive approach focused on rehabilitation. His latest changes to the DA’s office have been highly controversial. 

NEW LA COUNTY DA PROMOTING SWEEPING CHANGES (GEORGE GASCON)

On December 7, 2020, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon was sworn in as the County’s 43rd District Attorney. Following his defeat of Jackie Lacey, a DA who had built a reputation for a “tough-on-crime” approach, Gascon went straight to work making changes to his office true to his platform of criminal justice reform, progressive services, and rehabilitative prosecution. A main goal of his platform being lowering the prison population. 

Gascon’s less punitive approach to crime includes no more gang enhancements, eliminating cash bail (including no longer seeking bail for anyone facing a misdemeanor charge or non-violent or non-serious felony), ending use of the death penalty, and providing resentencing eligibility. These major changes are expected to lead to the early release of thousands of state prison inmates whom Gascon said are unfairly serving overly long sentences.

COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS) AND MY CASE (TRIAL OR APPEAL)

The rapidly expanding pandemic crisis of COVID-19 has had sweeping effects on everyday life. Due to Center For Disease Control (CDC) recommendations California has taken immediate measures to protect the public by enforcing social distancing and restrictions of gatherings of more than ten (10) people. This has meant immediate actions by the California Supreme Court and the California Superior Courts. Trial and Appeal Courts have moved to cease operations by closing doors and postponing pending matters. In the Los Angeles Superior Court, only critical in-custody matters with substantive pending hearings are being dispositioned. All other matters – trial or otherwise – are being continued by the Court for 30-45 days. 

With the CDC recommending drastic changes in American lifestyle to limit the spread of the Coronavirus, it is uncertain if the Courts will resume normal operations in the next 60-90 days. 

On Tuesday, June 16, 53-year-old Anthony Glen Gorospe was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading no contest to one charge of attempted murder and two counts of assault on a peace officer with a semiautomatic firearm, according to a news article at the Press-Telegram.

Gorospe, a resident of North Long Beach, allegedly fired at the city code enforcement inspector from inside the door at his residence, resulting in the loss of sight in the inspector’s left eye during a standoff that lasted nearly seven hours. The incident occurred in July of 2012 when the city inspector and a cleaning crew arrived at his home to begin cleanup after Gorospe had received numerous code violations. Gorospe held police and the inspector at bay for hours, and reportedly shouted at officers asking them to kill him during the standoff while he barricaded himself inside his home.

Gorospe was a reported hoarder, neighbors claiming that some of the rooms inside his home was filled with debris from the floor to the ceiling. However, many neighbors reported that Gorospe was a friendly man, and that he was kind to children. Some appeared in court to request that instead of prison, Gorospe be given psychiatric help. Brett Bush, the victim who was shot in the eye, stated to news reporters that he and the officers were only there because neighbors had asked them to come out. Bush said that at the time, he didn’t know if he would live or die.

Recently, James Bascue, a retired judge who left the LA Superior Court bench eight years ago, was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer following a standoff in the Sawtelle community, according to a news article at the Daily News.

Los Angeles Police Dept. spokeswoman Officer Liliana Preciado said Bascue was being held on $100,000 bail at the time of reports. Police were called by the judge, who is now 75 years old, on Thursday to a townhouse located in the 1900 block of South Barrington Avenue; Bascue claimed he was a hostage at the townhouse, where police found him sitting on a couch armed with two guns upon looking through a window of the home. When police attempted to make contact with Bascue, he allegedly began loading a gun and magazines, firing a shot toward officers through the window, as well as a shot inside the home. Preciado confirmed that no one was hurt during the incident.

SWAT officers were called to the scene, however Bascue eventually walked out of the townhouse after calling a neighbor, who convinced him to come out. No others were inside the townhouse and no other suspects found.

In 2014, Los Angeles saw a significant jump in violent crime; in fact, it was up 14.3%, according to LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and Mayor Eric Garcetti in a January 12 news report at NBC4.

According to Beck and Garcetti, the biggest factor in the increase in violent crime was the rise in domestic violence cases. The mayor claims Los Angeles is safer than it has ever been, and that part of the reason for the unflattering statistics and increase in certain violent crimes is the fact that LA is growing. Property crime was down nearly 5% in 2014, and is the most common offense in the Los Angeles area.

The primary drivers for increases in violent crime include not only an increase in situations involving domestic violence, but the switch of some misdemeanor assaults to aggravated.

Many people mistakenly believe that assault and battery are the same thing when in fact they are not.  However, there are several subcategories relevant to California’s assault laws, including:

When an individual behaves deliberately in a way that could potentially result in injury to someone else, regardless of whether a victim was actually injured, it is defined as assault under California Penal Code 240.  Someone who is convicted of this type of assault may face penalties including up to $1,000 in fines, and up to six months jail time.

Battery is defined by California Penal Code 242 as a violent act or the willful application of force against another person.  If convicted of battery, penalties are the same as with assault, other than the individual may be fined up to $2,000.

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