Criminal charges can severely impact your life, so such allegations are serious regardless of the type of crime. However, certain crimes carry heavier sentences and are punished more severely in California. Crimes involving guns will often result in more punitive sentencing. If you have been charged with brandishing a firearm, you’ll want to be prepared for your upcoming trial. Familiarizing yourself with the California laws that discuss your alleged crime is a great first step toward being ready for your hearing.

What is California PC417(a)(2)?

California Penal Code Statute 417(a)(2) describes the elements of brandishing a firearm. What is brandishing? When you are accused of brandishing, it means that you waved, drew, or exposed a gun in a threatening or angry manner. This can be a gesture as simple as lifting your shirt to show a gun in the waistband of your pants in an attempt to intimidate or threaten someone.

PC417(a)(2) also discusses using a firearm in a fight. You do not have to fire the gun for this law to apply. For example, you are in an altercation with another patron at a restaurant, and you hit them with the barrel of your gun.

What is a Firearm in California?

Any weapon that expels a projectile through a barrel by using an explosive force or combustion is considered a firearm by California law. This includes rifles, revolvers, handguns, shotguns, pistols, rocket launchers, and machine guns. In addition, California law includes the receiver or frame of a gun in its definition of a firearm, which means that even unassembled parts could be considered a firearm.

Legal Defenses for Brandishing

Violating California Penal Code 417(a)(2) can carry serious penalties, but there are a few strategies your criminal defense attorney can use in your defense.

Self-Defense

If you can establish that you acted in self-defense when faced with imminent harm, the charge of brandishing will not apply. California law does not include instances of self-defense in its description of brandishing a firearm.

Non-Threatening

One important element of brandishing is the threat to cause bodily injury. Showing that you did not have a threatening demeanor can be an effective defense strategy. For example, if you were merely taking out your gun to show it to your friend, that would not be brandishing.

No Possession

If what you were holding was not a firearm, you can use this as a defense in court. Maybe you were holding an antique, which is not included in California’s brandishing law, or a realistic water gun.

When is Brandishing Self-Defense?

As one of the more common defenses against brandishing charges, claiming self-defense has numerous elements that must be proven to be a valid approach. First, you must have had a realistic reason to think that an imminent threat or harm would occur. Second, you must have realistically believed that brandishing was your only option. Last, brandishing must be deemed as an appropriate use of force. In other words, you can only use as much force as is necessary to stop the threat you face.

Brandishing Charges and Penalties

Penal Code 417 includes firearms and deadly weapons in general. Deadly weapons, according to California law, are any objects that are inherently deadly or can be used to cause great injury or death. If you are found guilty of brandishing a deadly weapon that is not a firearm, you could face 30 days of mandatory jail time and as much as $1,000 in fines.

If you are found guilty of brandishing a firearm, the penalties are more severe. This charge can bring a sentence of up to one year in jail and a fine of $1,000. You may also face as many as five years of probation and lose your right to own a gun.

Most California brandishing charges are prosecuted as misdemeanors, but some aggravating circumstances can increase the charge to a felony. For example, brandishing at a daycare or school could be charged as a felony with a penalty of up to three years in prison.

In some situations, brandishing is not the only crime that you can be charged with. You may also face charges of assault with a deadly weapon, assault with a firearm, or criminal threats. Any of these additional allegations could bring more severe penalties if you’re convicted.

Contact a Criminal Defense Attorney

Carrying the weight of a criminal conviction for the rest of your life is not easy for anyone. Finding an attorney who will be invested in your case and dedicated to providing the highest quality defense is a top priority to ensure the best outcome possible. Contact the Law Office of Sheny Gutierrez at (714) 836-6000 for a free consultation.