Gardena, Tampering with a Vehicle (VC 10852), Infraction

Our client, age 23, and two of his friends were high on marijuana and drunk. They had been at a bar and drove home, parking their car in the large parking lot of the apartment complex where they each lived.

As they were walking from their car to their apartments, through the parking lot, there was a woman in her car, talking on her cell phone. She noticed the trio looking into parked cars.

Without All the Details, What Happened? Gardena, client one of three defendants charged with tampering with a vehicle (Vehicle Code § 10852), case reduced to an infraction for disturbing the peace (Penal Code § 415(2)) with a $300 fine, payment of the City of Gardena booking fee and performance of ten days of community service.

The woman then allegedly saw our client open a car door and take something. She saw him do it to three different cars. She also allegedly saw the other two young men open other cars and try to open other car doors, too.
The owners of the cars reported cash, sunglasses, CD-ROMs and cologne missing from the cars. Some of the items were found scattered throughout the apartment complex along the route that our client fled, so the car owners were apparently telling the truth.

Our client was booked and cited petty theft (Penal Code § 484), aiding and abetting (Penal Code § 659) and tampering with a vehicle (Vehicle Code § 10852).

Lucky for our client, two of his friends had prior criminal histories and they confessed while in the police car, while our client remained silent. A recording device in the police car recorded their conversation in full. Our client, however, remained silent during the car ride.

The client came to our office worried that a conviction for a theft offense would cause him to lose his job at a local restaurant and render his degree from El Camino College a waste of time.

Greg listened to the story from the client and his concerns.

Torrance Courthouse

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