Kidnapping in Los Angeles

Posted on: June 3, 2009 at 11:52 a.m.

In a story that hits too close to home, a young boy was kidnapped from his San Bernadino-area home by two gunmen this past Sunday. The gunmen reportedly broke into 3 year-old Briant Rodriguezs home on Sunday and tied him, his mother and four siblings up while they ransacked the familys home, stealing money and property.

On their way out, the gunmen kidnapped the boy, the youngest of his siblings, and warned his family not to call the police. One of the remaining children, an eight year-old boy, wiggled free of his bonds and managed to help untie the rest of his family. The boys father was reportedly at work at the time of the robbery and kidnapping. Initial information points to the kidnappers not being family members in any way and the California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert late Sunday, about nine hours after the Rodriguez family had called the police.
Kidnapping is a felony offense in Los Angeles, CA and counts as a strike under the Three Strikes Law, which can lead to enhanced sentencing. Being convicted of kidnapping in California can land you in a state prison for a minimum of three years and maximum of eight years. Kidnapping someone under the age of 14, as is the case here, is punishable by up to 11 years in a state prison. Kidnapping for ransom or robbery, which is sometimes referred to as aggravated kidnapping, is punishable by life in prison with the possibility of parole. If the victim of the kidnapping is injured or dies as a result of being kidnapped, then the crime is punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole. Assuming the two gunmen are eventually caught, even if Briant Rodriguez was not injured in any way, they are looking at spending a very long time in a California prison.
There are several common defenses to kidnapping charges, so if you or someone you know is being investigated by police, call the attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today. Their combined 50 years of courtroom experience will fight for the best possible outcome for you.

Tagged as: california criminal laws

Comments:

Vincent Palladino on June 12, 2009 at 5:37 p.m. wrote:

Some kidnapping defenses include the 'Good Faith Belief in Consent,' which means that if the defendant reasonably and actually believed that the person consented to the movement, then the defendant is not guilty of kidnapping. Another is 'Consent Given,' which means that if the other person consented to go with the defendant, then the defendant is not guilty of kidnapping. On the other side, to prove that the defendant is guilty of kidnapping, the prosecution must prove that (a)The defendant took, held or detained another person by using force or by instilling reasonable fear; (b)The defendant moved the other person, or made the other person move; (c)The other person did not give consent or want to move; and (d)The defendant did not actually and reasonably believe that the other person consented to the movement.

Sion Arakelian UCLA 803449309 on June 12, 2009 at 12:01 p.m. wrote:

I am surprised to read that the sentencing for criminals charged with kidnapping is merely a slap on the wrists. To think, that a criminal could get away with serving only three years in jail, is mind boggling. If I had a child and somebody tried to kidnap him, I would hope that the person charged with the crime would serve closer to a life term behind bars. This is just as bad when the kidnapper is a relative, such as a parent who kidnaps the child for custody rights purposes. I have heard, personally, of several cases where a child was kidnapped by a mother and moved thousands of miles away only to grow up without knowing who their real father is. This is one of the worst things that can happen to a child. The minimum amount of time one should serve when charged with kidnapping should be increased as well as the severity of the crime.

Brian Ryoo on June 12, 2009 at 10:38 a.m. wrote:

I agree with the first comment in that the penalty for kidnapping a minor should be stiffer. I do wonder how defense lawyer would go about arguing for his/her client in cases like this. In murder cases, the lawyer could argue different reasons why the defendant was not the murderer (e.g. alibi, motivations, etc.) But in a kidnapping case such as this, a trial wouldn't start until the kid has been returned/found and the kidnappers were caught. So how would lawyers go about arguing for people like that? I suppose they could argue intention and malice. But, the damage done to the society and those involved in the kidnapping does not really depend on the kidnapper's intention. A child who has been abducted or seen her sister get kidnapped is tremendously affected whether the kidnapper meant malice or not. Having said this, I know there are probably a number of legitimate arguments that the defense could make. It would just be a bit trickier because the defendant would already have been caught in the act.

Ashley Harris on June 12, 2009 at 12:41 a.m. wrote:

Firstly, I'm suprised it took so long for the Amber alert to be sent out. This case is terrible. Once again people are not only victimized by the crime itself, but also by the lasting fear it creates in the victims. The defense will have to somehow justify the theives decision to take the child. This will be tough, if not impossible. However, this could be presented as a heat of the moment mistake made by two guys in the habit of commiting crime.But getting carried away is not an excuse to kidnap someone. I'm curious to see how a defense would approach this case. The presecution would of course play on the fact that these criminals are progressing into very dangerous deviant behavior.

Komel Soin UCLA on June 11, 2009 at 11:59 a.m. wrote:

I don't see the logic in how the courts decide what the sentence will be. Kidnapping someone under the age of 14 determines the number of years you get, and also whether or not one asks for ransom determines how long the individual will be jailed? How long will jail time be if the individual is over 14? Or if they don't ask for ransom, does that mean they will be charged on the injuries to the individual? I think that kidnapping in itself regardless of the harm inflicted upon the individual should be punished by more than 3 years because it is a complete violation against the individual and it affects friends and family of the kidnapped. It is one thing to steal an object or property, a completely different thing to steal a person. It probably causes a great deal of psychological damage regardless of whether or not physical injuries occur.

Leilani Materon (UCLA) on June 11, 2009 at 4:35 a.m. wrote:

It's unfortunate when robbers will go to such great extents to inflict harm on others. As if the money and emotional harm on their victims was not enough to satiate their appetite for crime, they are now using the young boy as a bargaining chip. It would have been so easy for them to leave him behind, to forfeit their greed. I really hope for his safety, especially with the string of sad child abductions lately. As those above me have commented, the issue of kidnapping is a personal assault on the well-being state of a child. It has the potential to not only emotionally scar them but also emotionally scar their families. It is symbolic that his captors would take him, the youngest child, instead of kidnapping one of the older children. It really gives testament to their need for a power play and dominance. What also strikes me about this case is that they stole money from a relatively large family---had they no compassion? How will their mother feed her children? How will she cope with emergency situations? I hope the maximum sentence is imposed and that each of the captors are equally convicted, there is no room here for mercy understanding regardless of their desperation.

Theresa Fiddler on June 9, 2009 at 8:10 p.m. wrote:

Kidnapping can have long lasting emotional, mental, and physcial reprecussions for the person or child who was kidnapped. Kidnapping goes against the very principles on which America was founded; personal libery and freedom. Kidnapping completely undermines such ideals and takes away the free will that a person once had. Further, the practical problems with kidanpping are also relevant here. Children are ripped from their homes and life as they know it only to be taken on some terrifying adventure with, many times, a complete stranger. The trauma of kidnapping victims needs to be redeemed by way of the criminal justice system. Consistently sentencing kidnappers to prison for life without the possibility of parol would certainly make people think twice before kidnapping someone. It may seen harsh, but the children in this world need to be protected as much as possible from the predators who seek to hurt them. The longer a kidnapper spends in prison, the longer a child who he may have snatched from the streets is safe.

Michael J. Koenig on June 5, 2009 at 10 p.m. wrote:

The kidnapping and abduction that is at issue in this case appears very similar to other famous home invasion robbery/kidnappings, such as Elizabeth Smart. Although in this case the intentions of the perpetrators appear to be very different due to their initial focus on theft and robbery. Although their initial intentions may have been to ultimately abduct and force a ransom, the description of these facts does not definitively demonstrate this. In the case of Elizabeth Smart, Brian David Mitchell broke into the Smart’s house allegedly with a knife and gun and quietly forced Elizabeth out of the house, all while Elizabeth’s sister Mary Katherine secretly watched. To take a person’s personal possessions is a terrible thing to do, but to take control of their person and body at such a young age has enormously damaging effect of the character and personality of the victim. In the case of aggravated kidnapping the sentence is life with the possibility of parole. But in the case of kidnapping of children under the age of 14, not only do the perpetrators take their very lives for the time they are in control, but for the rest of that child’ life the child will suffer from the effects, yet the punishment of at most 11 years does not seem to fulfill justice. The crimes of aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping of a minor, rape and murder should be considered of similar serious consequence under the law, due to their shared devastating and irrevocable damage to the victim.

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