Recently in Los Angeles County at the Compton Courthouse a Complaint was filed against our client alleging that he violated Penal Code section 30600, “Unlawful Assault Weapon Activity.” According to the police reports and the evidence presented at the preliminary hearing, it was alleged that our client possessed and attempted to ship various firearm parts (including upper and lower receivers) to Mexico hidden in boxes disguised as fans and other miscellaneous items.
After the preliminary hearing, it was clear that the prosecution failed to prove that our client had possessed, manufactured, or imported, etc. an assault weapon in violation of Penal Code section 30600. We then filed a Penal Code section 995 motion arguing that the prosecution failed to prove the essential elements of the offense.
In our motion, we carefully defined and outlined the three categories of assault weapons and argued that none of the seized items in this matter constituted an “assault weapon” as defined in any of the three categories of assault weapons. We also argued that none of the seized items had the necessary characteristics to turn it into an assault weapon.
We further argued in our motion that nothing in the Penal Code prohibits having a mere assault rifle (AR) or individual unassembled “assault weapon” parts, even if those parts can be assembled into a complete “assault weapon.” Further, no evidence was revealed at the preliminary hearing to show that our client had knowledge that he manufactured an “assault weapon,” as required by the statute.
Prior to the hearing on the Penal Code section 995 motion, the prosecution acknowledged that we had a valid motion and stated that their office was considering re-filing the charges. At this time, we knew we were in a position to negotiate for an alternative disposition that avoided our client having to serve time in state prison.
Ultimately, we were able to negotiate to a conspiracy charge with a sentence of 30 days of Cal Trans. This is an amazing result for our client that will avoid having him serve time in state prison if he successfully completes the Cal Trans.
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