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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
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    2

    Default Felon in Possession of a Stolen Firearm

    My question involves police conduct in the State of: California

    What happens if a felon is caught with a firearm that turns out to have been stolen, if they weren't aware that it was stolen?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    20,594

    Default Re: Felon with a Loaded Firearm That Unknowingly Was Stolen

    A felon with a loaded firearm is bad enough. Adding that it was a STOLEN firearm is doubly bad. He needs legal counsel right away.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Felon with a Loaded Firearm That Unknowingly Was Stolen

    I know that this is a very serious situation, and I'm not taking this lightly. I was driving my car and the firearm was in my vehicle. I was stopped for my tinted windows, and the officer ran my identification. I have been dealing with my license stating that I am on supervision. But I am not on any supervision. I have proof that I am not on supervision, and I stated that I had the proof of this, and would he like to see it. He stated that he did not because the system says that I am on supervision. He then grabbed the cars door handle and opened the door and said that I had to step out. He turned me around and began to search me. I did not receive a citation for the original reason for the traffic stop, and I feel that I was illegally searched, and then the car was searched. Any chance of dismissal?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    20,594

    Default Re: Felon with a Loaded Firearm That Unknowingly Was Stolen

    What you FEEL is irrelevant. What the law says, is. And you do not need to be cited or charged with the reason for the stop for it to be valid.

    What kind of supervision were you on? Parole? Probation? PCRS? What makes you think you were OFF of that supervision? Did you return to court or get written proof from Parole? If you had written proof that was definitive in some way (usually a release card from Parole), then there may be a chance that the search can get dismissed. If there was no written proof that was definitive, then the court may well decide that the search was made in good faith and allow the evidence in. If you were truly NOT under supervision with search provisions, then the court may still rely on the good faith exception, or, they may dismiss.

    You would be well advised to speak with your attorney who can get the information and reports via discovery.

    I suspect that being a convicted felon in possession of a concealed firearm is not going to get you any great favors from the court. Personally, I am not sympathetic.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    8,238

    Default Re: Felon with a Loaded Firearm That Unknowingly Was Stolen

    Quote Quoting Murdock2316
    View Post
    Any chance of dismissal?
    Your attorney (and you definitely need one) would first have to file a motion to suppress the evidence from the search. Whether that motion would be successful is impossible to say because we don’t have all the facts that the officer had when making the decision to search. If you were on supervision then the chances are the terms of your parole/probation gives the officer the consent to search without a warrant and the search would be good. Even if you weren’t on supervision still, if the information the officer had says you were, that might still make it a good search. There is also the possibility some other exception to the warrant requirement was met that justified the search. If you want to get the gun suppressed, you’ll need a good lawyer who can successfully argue that a warrant was needed for this search. It may be a tough argument to make, but you’ll need to try since if the gun is admissible against you it seems your chances of avoiding a conviction are slim. If the gun is suppressed, though, you may succeed in getting the gun charges dismissed. You won’t get the gun back, though.

    Note you can be prosecuted by both the feds and the state for this one. Under federal law it is illegal for a felon to possess any firearm or firearm ammunition. You can get up to 10 years in a federal prison for that. It is also illegal under federal law to steal any firearm, and you can get up to 10 years in federal prison for that, too.

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