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How much time for carjacking
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We’re a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek – who has many, many years of experience handling federal violent crime cases. Our attorneys have over 40 years of combined experience, and we’ve represented clients in some of the most high-profile cases in the country – including the Anna Delvey case that became a Netflix series, the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct case, and others that other law firms said were unwinnable.
If you’re facing federal carjacking charges, this article breaks down exactly what kind of prison time you’re looking at – the statutory maximums, the guidelines ranges, the mandatory minimums that stack, and what recent 2024-2025 cases actually show.
The Three Statutory Tiers Under 18 USC 2119
Federal carjacking law – 18 U.S.C. § 2119 – sets three maximum sentences. Base carjacking with no injury: up to 15 years. Serious bodily injury: up to 25 years. Death results: life in prison or potentially the death penalty.
Federal prosecutors almost always charge the highest tier they can prove. If someone got hurt, even if that wasn’t your plan, you’re getting charged with the 25-year version.
The statute requires specific intent – the government must prove you took the vehicle “with the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm” by force, violence, or intimidation. That intent requirement matters because it’s harder to prove. There’s proposed 2025 legislation that would change this to just “knowingly,” making convictions much easier.
What the Federal Sentencing Guidelines Actually Say
Statutory maximums tell you the ceiling. The federal sentencing guidelines tell you what’s probably going to happen. Carjacking falls under Section 2B3.1 – the robbery guideline – with a two-level enhancement for carjacking.
Base offense level for robbery is 20. Add two levels for carjacking, you’re at level 22. If you have no prior criminal record – Criminal History Category I – offense level 22 means 41 to 51 months, roughly 3.5 to 4 years. That’s the starting point for a clean-record carjacking with no weapons, no injuries.
But carjackings don’t stay at offense level 22. If a firearm was possessed during the offense, add five levels. If it was brandished, add six levels. If it was discharged, add seven levels. A brandished firearm takes you from offense level 22 to offense level 28, which is 78 to 97 months for a Category I defendant – 6.5 to 8 years.
If someone was injured, more levels get added. Minor injury adds two levels, serious bodily injury adds four levels, permanent or life-threatening injury adds six levels. These stack. A carjacking with a brandished gun and minor injury puts you at offense level 30, which is 97 to 121 months – over 8 to 10 years.
Criminal history matters enormously. If you’ve got prior convictions, you move from Category I to Category II, III, or higher. Same offense level, higher category, much more time. Offense level 28 in Category III is 110 to 137 months instead of 78 to 97 months. That’s three extra years just from prior record.
Mandatory Minimums Stack and Run Consecutive
This is where federal carjacking sentences get brutal. Using a firearm during a carjacking triggers 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) – the federal gun-during-crime-of-violence statute. That statute has its own mandatory minimum sentences that run consecutive to whatever you get for the underlying carjacking.
Possessing a firearm during the carjacking – five years mandatory minimum under § 924(c). Brandishing it – seven years mandatory minimum. Discharging it – ten years mandatory minimum. These stack on top of your carjacking sentence.
Let’s say you get convicted of carjacking and you’re sentenced to 8 years under the guidelines. But you had a gun and you brandished it. The judge has to add 7 years consecutive for the § 924(c) count. Your total sentence is 15 years, not 8 years. The § 924(c) sentence runs consecutive, meaning after, not concurrent, meaning at the same time.
If you discharged the firearm – even a warning shot, even if you didn’t hit anyone – that’s 10 years mandatory minimum consecutive. An 8-year carjacking sentence becomes 18 years total. Federal gun enhancements don’t run at the same time as your other sentence, they add on top.
We’ve had clients shocked at sentencing when they thought they were looking at 5 to 7 years and the judge imposes 12 to 14 years because of mandatory consecutive time they didn’t understand. Federal sentencing is complicated – you need a lawyer who knows how these statutes interact.
What Recent Cases Show About Real Sentences
Looking at actual recent federal carjacking sentences from 2024 and 2025 shows what judges are actually imposing. Earrious Moore in Chicago got 14 years for stealing three cars at gunpoint. Erick Alvarenga in D.C. got 14 years for two carjackings. Raymond Davese in D.C. got 8 years for carjacking a valet with a taser. David Zanders in D.C. got 15 years for kidnapping and carjacking. Kevin Marshall in Illinois got life without parole for carjacking and murder.
Firearms drive sentences up dramatically. The 8-year sentence involved a taser. The 14-year sentences involved guns. The 15-year sentence involved kidnapping. The life sentence involved murder.
How Criminal History and Acceptance of Responsibility Affect Sentencing
Criminal history can double your sentence. A defendant at offense level 26 with no prior record faces 63 to 78 months. That same offense level with extensive priors – Category VI – faces 120 to 150 months. Same crime, double the prison time.
Acceptance of responsibility gets you a two or three-level reduction – worth 6 to 12 months in most carjacking cases. To get it, you generally need to plead guilty rather than go to trial.
Going to trial means you lose acceptance of responsibility – that’s the trial penalty. Some cases should go to trial if the government can’t prove intent or there’s a valid defense. Other cases, the evidence is overwhelming and the best move is negotiating the best plea agreement and getting acceptance credit.
Why You Need a Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer Immediately
Federal carjacking cases move fast – from arrest to indictment to trial in under six months in many districts. You need a lawyer immediately, before you make any statements to law enforcement or FBI agents.
At Spodek Law Group, we’ve handled violent crime cases in federal court for over 40 years combined experience. We know the federal sentencing guidelines, we know how mandatory minimums stack, we know what defenses work in carjacking cases. Todd Spodek is a second-generation criminal defense lawyer who has successfully handled hundreds of federal cases. Our team includes former prosecutors who understand how the government builds these cases.
We’re available 24/7. If you’re facing federal carjacking charges – or if you think you might be under investigation – contact us immediately. The decisions you make right now affect how much time you’re facing.