People v. Garcia CA3

BACKGROUND

A Marysville police officer stopped defendant on September 19, 2010, for driving with expired registration tags. Because the car registration had expired more than six months before the traffic stop, the officer advised defendant the car would be towed and directed defendant to retrieve his belongings. Defendant removed a long brown wallet from the car. The officer subsequently removed a loaded gun from the trunk of the car, and a search of defendant found a methamphetamine pipe in one of defendant’s pockets and a loaded pistol in his wallet. Following a court trial, the trial court convicted defendant on possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (former § 12021, subd. (a)(1), now § 29800 -- counts 1 and 2), possession of ammunition by a convicted felon (former § 12316, subd. (b)(1), now

2 § 16150), and possession of drug paraphernalia (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364). The trial court also found true allegations that defendant had two prior strike convictions. The trial court sentenced defendant to 25 years to life in prison on the count 1 conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, imposed a concurrent 25-to-life sentence on the count 2 conviction…