People v. Timmons CA2/1

BACKGROUND

In 2014, a court ordered Timmons not to own, use, or possess a firearm for 10 years. On May 11, 2014, Mary Delong, who shared a duplex with Timmons, heard two gunshots outside her bedroom door and then heard a third party tell Timmons to give him the gun. On November 11, 2014, Delong saw Timmons holding a gun. Timmons pleaded not guilty to two counts of unlawful firearm activity and was tried by a jury. (Pen. Code, § 29815, subd. (a).)1 The court instructed the jury that Timmons was “charged in counts 1 and 3 with unlawfully possessing a firearm. To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must prove that: “1: The defendant possessed the firearm; “2: The defendant knew that he possessed a firearm; and “3: A court had ordered that the defendant not possess a firearm.” The trial court also instructed the jury that a “defendant in a criminal case is presumed to be innocent. This presumption requires that the People prove the defendant

1 Penal Code section 29815, entitled “Person with probation condition prohibited from owning, possessing, controlling, receiving or purchasing firearm,” provides, in pertinent part, that “[a]ny person who, as an…