People v. Jones CA1/3

BACKGROUND

In May 2022, officers received reports of a man with a firearm in his waistband at the Millbrae Caltrain station. They arrived to find Jones, who had a rolling suitcase, detained on the station platform. Jones disclosed he had a pellet gun, which officers located inside his bag. They also found a billy club — an approximately 20-inch solid metal rod with a hole drilled into one end and a piece of fabric looped through the hole. Although officers did not ask Jones whether he was licensed to carry the weapon, he disclosed he

1 openly carried it for protection. At no point during the arrest, however, did he mention he’d been trained to use a billy club or his belief that he could lawfully carry it. The district attorney charged Jones with possession of a billy club.1 (§ 22210.) The information also alleged he had three prior strike convictions. (§§ 667, subd. (d), 1170.12, subd. (b).) At trial, Jones testified that he believed he was authorized to carry the billy club at the time of his arrest. He testified he was trained by the Los Angeles Police Department to carry it and received a carry permit from the Department of Consumer Affairs (Consumer Affairs) in 1988. He…