AB 333: Changes to CA Gang Enhancement Laws

Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney

Los Angeles, California is often credited as being the birthplace of the modern criminal street gang.  Crips and Bloods and the like are as much an iconic part of LA's identity as they come.  In an effort to combat gangs, the California legislature enacted a series of laws that harshly punish gang membership, and substantially increase the penalty for crimes committed "for the benefit of" or "at the direction of" a criminal street gang.  These enhancements have been used to tear apart communities of color throughout the state, with an overwhelming majority of gang enhancements charged against Black and Brown Californians.  In many Los Angeles neighborhoods, gang identity is so widespread and deep that residents are practically deemed gang members just because of their addresses.

Current LA County District Attorney George Gascon has made it a priority to avoid this disparity, declining to seek gang enhancements.  In other counties, and in a world after Gascon's time in office, gang enhancements could still be a very serious problem for Angelenos.  Luckily, the same California legislature that enacted the "tough-on-crime" series of laws that included gang enhancements, has evolved and recently sought to reform the criminal laws dealing with criminal street gangs.  This follows a trend of the California legislature trying to reform the criminal justice system for nearly a decade, beginning in 2014 with Proposition 47, which made all drug possession and theft under $950 a misdemeanor.  Recently, the legislature passed AB 333, which will benefit the many young Californians who would face harsher penalties due to alleged gang participation.

What is AB 333 and How does it apply?
It is an act to amend Section 186.22 of, and to add Section 1109 to, the Penal Code, relating to criminal gangs.  AB 333 makes several important changes to the law, including:

• Redefining a “pattern of criminal gang activity;”
  
• Updating the definition of “criminal street gang;”
  
• Reducing the list of crimes eligible for gang enhancement charges;
  
• Not allowing the instant charge to serve as proof as a “pattern” of criminal gang activity;
  
• Separating a gang enhancement charge from the underlying charge.
  

This has the effect of not only reducing the number of people who can be charged with gang enhancements, but even substantially reduces the number of "criminal street gangs" that would even qualify.

What Was the OLD Gang Enhancement Law?
Penal Code § 186.22(b) provides that a defendant who is convicted of certain criminal offenses can face a greater sentence if the prosecution can prove the following:

• The crime was committed for the benefit of the criminal street gang.
  
• The defendant intended to assist, further or promote criminal conduct by gang members.
  

Penal Code § 186.22 is the California statute that prohibits criminal street gang activity.  People could be prosecuted under this section if they participate in a gang while furthering any felon, or carry out a crime for the benefit of a gang.  The penalties are so harsh that in some cases this can result in a life sentence in prison.  The old law defined a "criminal street gang" as three or more people in a group that has a common name or identifying sign or symbol, with one of that group's primary activities being the commission of one or more of certain enumerated criminal acts, or who collectively engage (or have engaged) in a pattern of criminal activity.

What is the NEW Gang Enhancement Law?
This bill, instead, defines “criminal street gang” as an ongoing,
organized organization or group of 3 or more persons, whether formal or
informal, having as one of its primary activities the commission of one or
more of the enumerated criminal acts, having a common name or common
identifying sign or symbol, and whose members collectively engage in, or have engaged in, a pattern of criminal gang activity.

AB 333, also called The STEP Forward Act, targets the damage that gang enhancements cause to families and communities throughout California. It seeks to reduce the racial imbalance of enhancements in Penal Code (PC) 186.22 by adding Section 1109.

Some of the goals AB 333 has include:
To end the prosecutors’ ability to claim that people are gang members because they are from the same community, related, or know one another.
To reduce the list of crimes allowed for gang enhancements.
To prohibit the use of the current change as proof of a “pattern” of criminal gang activity. • To require direct evidence of current gang activity by the defendant.
To separate gang allegations from underlying charges at trial.

If you or a loved one is currently facing charges relating to possible gang membership, or is currently serving a sentence which includes gang enhancements, contact the Law Offices of Nicholas Loncar today for a FREE CONSULTATION with a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney.  We can discuss your case in detail and explore possible defenses and other ways to assist in the preparation of your defense.  213-375-3775.

Nicholas M. Loncar, Esq. 
Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney
t: 213-375-3775 | f: 213-375-3099
Mobile: 323-803-4352 
Nicholas.Loncar@iDefendLosAngeles.com
www.iDefendLosAngeles.com

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