Is the Same Law Applicable to the Crimes of Carjacking and Robbery ?

In People v. Alvarado (1999) 76 Cal. App. 4th 156, 160 [90 Cal. Rptr. 2d 129], the defendant told the victim to get out of his car or he would be shot. Instead of complying, the victim parked the car, yanked the keys out of the ignition, and ran. (People v. Alvarado, supra, 76 Cal. App. 4th at p. 158.) Although Alvarado was unable to drive the car without the keys, his conviction for carjacking was upheld. (Id. at p. 162.) The court reviewed the legislative history of the carjacking statute and determined that, because the law was passed to fill gaps in the robbery statutes, the Legislature had intended to treat the elements of carjacking essentially the same as the elements for robbery. (See People v. Alvarado, supra, 76 Cal. App. 4th at p. 160.) "There is no indication that the Legislature intended to alter the meaning of a felonious taking. Because the crimes of carjacking and robbery contain the same felonious taking requirement, we find it appropriate to apply to the crime of carjacking the well-developed law applicable to that element of robbery." (People v. Alvarado, supra, 76 Cal. App. 4th at p. 160.)