Favalora

Plaintiff People of the State of California appeals from an order of the Monterey County Superior Court dismissing the information charging defendant with violation of Penal Code section 12020 (possession, of a sawed-off shotgun).

Question Presented

Is possession of an inoperable sawed-off shotgun a violation of Penal Code section 12020?

Record

An information was filed in the Monterey County Superior Court charging defendant with violation of Penal Code section 12020 (possession of a sawed-off shotgun). Pleading not guilty defendant moved, pursuant to Penal Code section 1538.5 to suppress evidence and pursuant to Penal Code section 995 to dismiss the information. At a hearing of the motions the court granted the section 995 motion and dismissed the information.

. Section 12020 of the Penal Code provides in pertinent part: “Any person in this state who . . . possesses any instrument or weapon of the kind commonly known as a . . . sawed-off shotgun ... is guilty of a felony, ... As used in this section a ‘sawed-off shotgun’ means a shotgun having a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length or a rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length,…