CALIFORNIA—The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California announced in a press release that they sentenced Rocky Lee Music, 33, to five years in prison for committing a carjacking in the 5200 block of Campus Drive in Dublin, California on April 16, 2020.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, “the carjacking occurred approximately 40 minutes after Music was granted pretrial release from Santa Rita Jail, where he had been held while awaiting prosecution by Alameda County authorities on other charges.”
“To carjack the vehicle, Music opened the driver’s door, punched the male victim seated in the driver’s seat, pulled the victim out of the Prius while continuing to punch him on the head, and forced his way into the driver’s seat,” the authorities stated.
Music climbed into the driver’s seat and began driving, “while the victim hung onto the driver’s side door.”
Authorities noted Music drove to San Ramon, about a nine-minute drive from Dublin, and allegedly “approached” a woman sitting in the driver’s seat inside her parked vehicle. Federal prosecutors noted that Music stole her vehicle and drove away.
The prosecutors for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said the local police found and arrested Music in San Ramon, California later that day and he has remained in custody since.
Music admitted to violating 18 U.S.C. § 2119(1), which is a federal carjacking statute that states that “Whoever, possessing a firearm…takes a motor vehicle that has been transported, shipped, or received in interstate or foreign commerce from the person or presence of another by force and violence or by intimidation, or attempts to do so,” could face a federal prison sentence of 15 years, or a possible fine of $250,000, or both.
“In addition to the prison term, Judge Gonzalez Rogers sentenced Music to a three-year period of supervised release. The defendant will begin serving the sentence immediately,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The San Francisco News reached out to the District Attorney for Alameda County and asked why Music received a shorter prison sentence, but did not receive a reply in time for print.
