The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Perez-Monragon, 28 F.3d 110 (9th Cir. 1994):
To support a conviction for violation of section 924(c)(1), the evidence must show that a weapon was both "related to" the crime, and "available to" the defendant. A weapon's close proximity to illegal narcotics constitutes evidence of its relation to the underlying drug offense, while use can be shown by evidence of the weapon's availability, even if the defendant did not use the gun or could not have taken physical possession of it. United States v. Torres-Medina, 935 F.2d 1047, 1048-49 (9th Cir.1991) (that defendant was a paraplegic incapable of retrieving gun found in crawl space under his house did not preclude finding that gun was available) (citations omitted).
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