California Penal Code Section 496(a) - receipt of stolen property

(a) Every person who buys or receives any property that has
been stolen or that has been obtained in any manner constituting
theft or extortion, knowing the property to be so stolen or obtained,
or who conceals, sells, withholds, or aids in concealing, selling,
or withholding any property from the owner, knowing the property to
be so stolen or obtained, shall be punished by imprisonment in a
state prison, or in a county jail for not more than one year.
However, if the district attorney or the grand jury determines that
this action would be in the interests of justice, the district
attorney or the grand jury, as the case may be, may, if the value of
the property does not exceed four hundred dollars ($400), specify in
the accusatory pleading that the offense shall be a misdemeanor,
punishable only by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one
year.
  A principal in the actual theft of the property may be convicted
pursuant to this section.  However, no person may be convicted both
pursuant to this section and of the theft of the same property.

Receipt of Stolen property is a fairly straightforward crime.  The
prosecution must show that the individual bought or received the
property knowing that it is stolen or extorted property.  The
prosecution can also show that the person either hid, concealed or
helped hide or conceal the property knowing it was stolen or extorted.

The statute gives the grand jury or the prosecution the discretion
to charge the crime as a misdemeanor instead of a felony if the
pursuit of justice would be served and the amount is less than $400.00
If this is the case, jail time up to one year may be imposed.

Lastly, the individual who committed the theft can be convicted under
this section but cannot be convicted under this section and
for theft of the same property.

Enhancements

Enhancements are a very powerful tool for the prosecution to use against the defendant in a criminal trial. An enhancement increases the amount of time that a defendant will spend in prison. The most common examples of enhancements are priors and gang relations.

Priors are straightforward, have you the defendant committed or been convicted of any prior felonies? If so, your sentence will be increased for each prior that you committed. For example, lets say you have committed three prior felonies and you are now out of prison and not on parole. You commit a new crime and are found guilty. Lets say the sentences is for one year. The judge will be required to add three (3) years to your sentence; one for each prior you have committed. This gives the prosecutor a lot of ground on which to negotiate against the defendant.

Gang enhancements are a little different. A gang enhancement can make a simple misdemeanor a felony offense. This means you could easily serve years in prison for something as simple as shoplifting. This tool is abused by the prosecution because the definition of a gang is vague. In general if you are a minority the prosecution will try to get a gang enhancement to be added to your charges. One's connection to a gang can be old or no longer exist. The prosecution doesn't care because getting convictions is all that matters to them. The prosecution has to show that the crime was committed on the behalf or for the benefit of the gang.

This sounds like it would be hard to prove for a person that left a gang 5 years ago, but if you have tattoos or other distinctive markings from a gang you are an easy target for the prosecution. The police and prosecution have wide latitude on what the present and how to convince the jury that you are a gang member.

As a general rule, enhancements make it much harder for a defendant to get a fair trial or for their counsel to get a good deal for their client.

California Penal Code section 451 (arson)

A person is guilty of arson when he or she willfully and
maliciously sets fire to or burns or causes to be burned
or who aids, counsels, or procures the burning of, any
structure, forest land, or property.
 (a) Arson that causes great bodily injury is a felony
punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for five,
seven, or nine years.
 (b) Arson that causes an inhabited structure or
inhabited property to burn is a felony punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison for three, five, or eight
years.
 (c) Arson of a structure or forest land is a felony
punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two,
four, or six years.
 (d) Arson of property is a felony punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, two, or
three years.  For purposes of this paragraph, arson of
property does not include one burning or causing to be
burned his or her own personal property unless there is
an intent to defraud or there is injury to another person
or another person's structure, forest land, or property.
 (e) In the case of any person convicted of violating
this section while confined in a state prison, prison road
camp, prison forestry camp, or other prison camp or prison
farm, or while confined in a county jail while serving a
term of imprisonment for a felony or misdemeanor conviction,
any sentence imposed shall be consecutive to the sentence
for which the person was then confined.

In California an individual can face serious jail time for
committing arson. Under the code, a person is guilty of arson
if they willfully or maliciously set fire to or burn or cause
to burn or who aids in the process of one of three things:
a structure
a property
a forested land

If great bodily injury occurs the individual is looking at
5,7,9 years. If it is an inhabited structure or property the
individual is looking at 3,5,8 years.
If it is a structure or forest land the individual is
looking at 2,4,6 years.
If it is property the person is looking at 16 months, 2,3 years.

The prosecution will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt
that the individual set fire or burned the structure/property
intentionally/on purpose or in a manner that was so reckless
that criminal intent can be inferred (e.g. using gasoline to
start a fire on a wooden floor in a home to burn trash).  The
prosecution will also have to prove that there was damage to
the property from the fire, but more than smoke damage.

California Vehicle Code Section 23152

23152. (a) It is unlawful for any person who is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a vehicle.

(b) It is unlawful for any person who has 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a vehicle.

For purposes of this article and Section 34501.16, percent, by weight, of alcohol in a person's blood is based upon grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.

In any prosecution under this subdivision, it is a rebuttable presumption that the person had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood at the time of driving the vehicle if the person had 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood at the time of the performance of a chemical test within three hours after the driving.

(c) It is unlawful for any person who is addicted to the use of any drug to drive a vehicle. This subdivision shall not apply to a person who is participating in a narcotic treatment program approved pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 11875) of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(d) It is unlawful for any person who has 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in Section 15210.

In any prosecution under this subdivision, it is a rebuttable presumption that the person had 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood at the time of driving the vehicle if the person had 0.04 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood at the time of the performance of a chemical test within three hours after the driving.

(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 1992, and shall remain operative until the director determines that federal regulations adopted pursuant to the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. Sec. 2701 et seq.) contained in Section 383.51 or 391.15 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations do not require the state to prohibit operation of commercial vehicles when the operator has a concentration of alcohol in his or her blood of 0.04 percent by weight or more.

(f) The director shall submit a notice of the determination under subdivision (e) to the Secretary of State, and this section shall be repealed upon the receipt of that notice by the Secretary of State.

The above quoted language is one of the most common vehicle code violations an individual is charged with. This is the category that most if not all people charged with a DUI or DWI fall into. The person is generally charged under section (a) and section (b). The section states that there is a presumption that the person was under the influence, if within three hours of being pulled over and tested, the individual tested a .08 or higher on the test. This presumption is rebuttable, meaning the defendant can overcome the presumption by presenting their own evidence.

Section (c) is applicable to individuals who are using narcoticsor on a drug rehabilitation program that is approved by the Health and Safety code. Section (d) states that it is illegal for a person to drive a commercial vehicle with a blood alcohol content over .04.