If you or a family member is being charged with carjacking in New Jersey, securing top-notch legal representation is incredibly important. Why? Because a conviction for this type of criminal offense could result in a multi-year prison sentence, along with a myriad of other severe penalties.
Example of Carjacking
A 17-year-old male was arrested in Trenton, New Jersey (NJ) after he and an accomplice reportedly robbed an Uber driver at gunpoint, according to the Trentonian. The police spoke with the Uber driver and he informed them that the 17-year-old male and his colleague carjacked him at gunpoint in front of a home on Buckingham Avenue. The two males allegedly took the Uber's driver’s vehicle, cellphone, and wallet. Police located the stolen vehicle and the two teenagers attempted to evade the police by leading them on a car chase.
New Jersey Law Defining Carjacking
Under New Jersey law, a carjacking is defined as the act of someone unlawfully taking someone else’s motor vehicle by force, threatens to commit a felony and commit bodily harm to the person inside or operates the vehicle while the original driver or owner is still inside.
Carjacking Criminal Charges
According to N.J.S.A. 2C:15-2, carjacking is considered to be a first-degree crime and a violent crime. If you want to make bail after an arrest for carjacking, you better have a significant sum of money sitting in the bank. Why? Because in these types of cases, judges will typically set bail for between $100,000 and $250,000. Furthermore, the usual 10 percent cash bail option is not allowed. If you are charged with carjacking, you could be looking at a prison sentence of at least ten years and up to thirty years in a state penitentiary. Yes, you read that correctly – up to thirty years. If that was not bad enough, a carjacking conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in state prison. To make matters worse, a carjacking conviction triggers the application of No Early Release Act (NERA). Under the NERA, when someone is convicted of carjacking they are required serve no less than 85 percent of their prison sentence before they can even consider applying for parole.
Defending Against Carjacking Charges
If you or a loved one is charged with carjacking, do not give up hope. There are suitable defenses to fight a carjacking criminal charge. For example, a potentially viable defense is that you lacked the intent to actually take the motor vehicle unlawfully.
Take Action by Contacting the Skilled Trenton Criminal Defense Attorneys at the Davis Law Firm, LLC
To get a better idea of the legal defenses available to you after being charged with carjacking, sitting down with an experienced and skilled Trenton criminal defense attorney is essential. The criminal defense lawyers with the Davis Law Firm, LLC are here to help. We are experienced in representing individuals charged with carjacking and a whole host of other crimes in Trenton, Hamilton, Lawrence, West Windsor, Princeton, Ewing, or anywhere else in Mercer County, NJ. Call our office at 609-587-9100 or fill out the fully confidential online contact form. We have an office conveniently located at 2653 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Township, NJ 08619.The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.
