Jones

After a jury trial, defendant and appellant Louis Willie Jones was convicted of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and possession of a firearm by a felon. Jones was sentenced to a total term of nine years in prison. Jones’s sole contention on appeal is that Penal Code section 654 1 precluded imposition of concurrent sentences on the offenses. We conclude that, when an ex-felon commits a crime using a firearm, and arrives at the crime scene already in possession of the firearm, it may reasonably be inferred that the firearm possession is a separate and antecedent offense, carried out with an independent, distinct intent from the primary crime. Therefore, section 654 will not bar punishment for both firearm possession by a felon (§ 12021, subd. (a)(1)) and for the primary crime of which the defendant is convicted. We therefore affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

1. Facts.

Kyshanna Walter 2 ended a dating relationship with Jones after he became violent towards her. Jones continued to telephone her and appear at her home and school, and Kyshanna obtained a restraining order against him.

On April 23, 2001, Jones and an unidentified man drove in a white car to the…