California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Duffy, 265 Cal.Rptr.3d 59, 51 Cal.App.5th 257 (Cal. App. 2020):
Given the structure of the statute, and the reasoning in Ramon regarding a structurally similar statute, and the legislative history referring to carrying a concealed weapon as a single offense, irrespective of whether the firearm was carried on the person or in a vehicle, we conclude carrying a concealed firearm on his person after a felony conviction ( 25400, subds. (a)(2) /(c)(1) -- count 4), carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, when the firearm is stolen ( 25400, subds. (a)(1) /(c)(2) -- count 5), and carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, when the firearm is loaded and the person is not the registered owner ( 25400, subds. (a)(1) /(c)(6) -- count 6) do not describe separate offenses. Section 25400, subdivision (a) describes the offense of carrying a concealed weapon and subdivision (c) establishes the penalty depending on the circumstances of the offense and offender. Accordingly, the trial court erred when it entered judgment on counts 4, 5 and 6 for three violations of section 25400, subdivision (a). Under the facts of this case, defendant violated section 25400, subdivision (a) only once and can be convicted only once for this crime. (See People v. Ramon , supra , 175 Cal.App.4th at pp. 857-858, 96 Cal.Rptr.3d 459.) We will, therefore, order the convictions for violating section 25400, subdivisions (a)(2) /(c)(1) (count 4) and section 25400, subdivisions (a)(1) /(c)(6) (count 6) stricken and affirm the conviction for violating section 25400, subdivisions (a)(1) /(c)(2) (count 5).
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