Illegal Guns, Rifles and Weapons | Temecula & Murrieta Criminal Attorney
by
Nicolai Cocis on Jan. 24, 2013
Criminal Criminal Felony Criminal Misdemeanor
Summary: Attempted possession of an illegal semiautomatic assault weapon
While searching the Internet, an individual came across a website that sold kits for making AK-47, semiautomatic assault weapons. The website also provided guidance for the assembly of the rifle along with suggestions for avoiding being convicted if arrested. The individual bought a kit. He kept it at his shop but never fully assembled the assault rifle. He was arrested and subsequently convicted for attempted unlawful possession of the assault weapon. (see People v. Nguyen)
On appeal, he claimed that his conviction was a mistake because the law cannot be violated unless the AK-47 is fully assembled and allows the shooter to fire repeated shots without reloading manually. The Court of Appeals disagreed and found that the conviction was proper. The Court said that the individual failed to distinguish between a violation of the law on one hand, and the attempted violation of the same law, on the other hand.
The case raises an important point in criminal law: under California law, an attempt to commit a crime is itself a crime and is subject to criminal punishment.
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