BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK/KBFX) — Two Bakersfield brothers are facing attempted murder charges after police say a confrontation over reckless driving turned violent in an east Bakersfield neighborhood.
According to the Bakersfield Police Department, the incident happened Sunday morning in the 1600 block of Niles Street near Williams Street.
Investigators say a man asked a group of drivers to slow down because children were nearby. That’s when the situation escalated.
Police say the suspects attacked the man with a baseball bat. Part of the assault was captured on video, which shows the victim and his truck being struck.
The victim was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Authorities later arrested 22-year-old Juan Morales and 19-year-old Isaias Morales. Both are facing attempted murder, vandalism and other charges.
But when does an assault become attempted murder?
While the attack is being investigated as attempted murder, an attorney says the key difference between that charge and assault with a deadly weapon comes down to intent.
“Assault with a deadly weapon is what’s called a general intent crime; attempted murder requires the person swinging the bat to have an intent to kill the other person,” said attorney Jared Thompson with Humphrey and Thompson.
Thompson explained that proving intent involves looking at the full context of the situation — including what led up to the confrontation, the actions taken, and how the weapon was used.
Investigators may also consider where the suspect was aiming. In this case, the video appears to show the victim bleeding from the side of his head.
“When you’re aiming a bat at someone’s head, swinging it with full force, you could make an argument that there is an intent to kill there,” Thompson said.
Even though the victim’s injuries were not life-threatening, that does not prevent prosecutors from filing an attempted murder charge.
Legal experts say a person does not have to be seriously injured — or even injured at all — for that charge to apply. Instead, the focus is on what prosecutors believe the suspect intended to do.
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If convicted, the suspects could face years in state prison. Attorneys say penalties in cases like this can vary depending on how prosecutors file the charges and what can be proven in court.