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What is armed carjacking penalty
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We’re a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek, with over 40 years of combined experience handling federal criminal cases. We’ve represented clients in cases that captured national attention – from the Anna Delvey case that became a Netflix series, to the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct matter. If you’re facing armed carjacking charges, you need to understand what you’re up against.
Armed carjacking penalties aren’t just severe – they’re built to destroy your life. The federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2119, creates a sentencing structure that starts at 15 years and climbs to life in prison or the death penalty depending on what happens during the offense. But that’s only half the story, because federal prosecutors almost always add a second charge under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) for using a firearm during a crime of violence – and that charge alone carries mandatory minimum sentences that run consecutively to everything else.
You’re looking at decades in federal prison if convicted. Not years. Decades. The average sentence imposed for robbery offenses in federal court was 110 months in fiscal year 2024 according to United States Sentencing Commission data, while the average sentence for 924(c) firearm charges was 150 months. Those sentences stack on top of each other.
The Three-Tier Penalty Structure Under 18 U.S.C. § 2119
Federal carjacking law punishes you based on the harm caused. The base offense – taking a motor vehicle from someone by force, violence, or intimidation – carries up to 15 years in federal prison and a fine. No mandatory minimum at this tier, but judges rarely go easy on carjacking cases.
If serious bodily injury results from the carjacking, the maximum jumps to 25 years. Serious bodily injury means substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted disfigurement, or loss of a bodily function. A broken bone can qualify. A severe laceration can qualify.
Death changes everything. If someone dies during the carjacking – the victim, a bystander, anyone – you face up to life in prison or the death penalty. The Department of Justice’s Criminal Resource Manual makes clear that federal prosecutors can seek capital punishment in carjacking cases resulting in death. The statute was amended in 1994 specifically to add death penalty authority.
These aren’t theoretical maximums. Federal judges sentence within guideline ranges calculated using the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, and carjacking cases score high on the offense level scale. Your criminal history multiplies the damage – even old convictions push your sentencing range into double-digit years.
The 924(c) Mandatory Minimum Trap
Armed carjacking means you had a gun. Maybe you showed it, maybe you pointed it, maybe it never left your waistband – doesn’t matter much. The moment federal prosecutors can prove you possessed a firearm during the carjacking, they charge you under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), and that statute is a sentencing nightmare.
The mandatory minimums are brutal. Simply possessing a firearm during a crime of violence gets you 5 years mandatory minimum. Brandishing the firearm – showing it, displaying it – triggers a 7-year mandatory minimum. Discharging the firearm means 10 years mandatory minimum. These sentences must run consecutively to whatever you get for the underlying carjacking offense.
Consecutive means stacked. If you get 10 years for carjacking under § 2119 and the mandatory 7 years for brandishing under § 924(c), you’re serving 17 years minimum. The judge has no discretion to run those sentences at the same time, no authority to depart below the mandatory minimum. Congress locked judges into these sentences.
It gets worse if prosecutors charge multiple 924(c) counts. Second or subsequent 924(c) convictions carry a mandatory 25 years to life, and prosecutors stack these charges by alleging separate uses of firearms during different acts within the same episode. The U.S. Sentencing Commission reported that the average sentence for defendants convicted under § 924(c) was 150 months in fiscal year 2024 – over 12 years, and that’s an average including the “simple” 5-year possessions.
You can’t plead around 924(c) charges without the government’s agreement. Judges can’t grant you a safety valve. Acceptance of responsibility reductions don’t apply to mandatory minimums. The only way out is cooperation – providing substantial assistance to prosecutors in other cases – and even then, you need the government to file a motion on your behalf.
The Intent Requirement Federal Prosecutors Must Prove
One element of federal carjacking separates it from state charges: prosecutors must prove you acted with the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm. This isn’t intent to steal the car – it’s intent to hurt someone.
That requirement creates problems for federal prosecutors. According to DOJ guidance, this element can be difficult to establish, particularly in cases where defendants grabbed keys and fled without explicitly threatening victims. Some federal carjacking prosecutions have failed because the government couldn’t prove the defendant intended to cause serious bodily harm.
Defense attorneys attack this element. If you pointed a gun but never made verbal threats, if you shoved someone but didn’t strike them, if you grabbed keys and ran – prosecutors have to prove you specifically intended serious harm, not just that you committed robbery. That’s a higher bar than most state carjacking statutes require.
This also affects when cases go federal versus state. Federal prosecutors take cases where intent is obvious – armed defendants who made explicit threats, cases involving violence against victims, situations where weapons were brandished or fired. If your case has ambiguous intent, it might stay in state court where the elements are easier to prove and sentences are often lower.
What You’re Actually Facing
Let’s be specific about sentencing outcomes. Robbery offenses in federal court – which include carjacking cases – had an average guideline minimum of 123 months in fiscal year 2024, with an average sentence imposed of 110 months. That’s the baseline for carjacking without enhancements.
Add the 924(c) charge for possessing or using a firearm, and you’re adding 5-10 years minimum that must run consecutively. A typical armed carjacking prosecution results in 15-20 years in federal prison after trial. If someone was injured, if the gun was fired, if there were multiple victims or multiple carjackings – you’re looking at 20-30 years or more.
Federal prison means serving your sentence at institutions often far from your family. There’s no parole, so you serve at least 85% of your sentence even with good conduct credits. A 20-year sentence means 17 years minimum behind bars. Federal felony convictions eliminate gun rights permanently, create barriers to employment and housing, affect immigration status for non-citizens.
Fighting these cases requires experienced federal criminal defense attorneys who understand the Sentencing Guidelines, mandatory minimums, substantial assistance departures, pretrial motions to suppress evidence and dismiss charges. Our team at Spodek Law Group has handled federal violent crime cases across the country, from investigation through sentencing and appeal. We’ve represented clients in cases others said were unwinnable, securing dismissals, acquittals, and below-guideline sentences in federal prosecutions.
Armed carjacking charges represent some of the most serious federal offenses you can face. The penalties are designed to incapacitate defendants for decades. If you’re under investigation or charged with federal carjacking, you need attorneys who have done this work before – who know federal prosecutors, federal judges, and federal sentencing. We’re available 24/7 to discuss your case.