Firearms Defense Attorney
Firearms Defense for Charges Filed Out of Beverly Hills
Arrested? Charged with a crime? CALL NOW 866-713-2159
When a Beverly Hills Police Department officer finds a firearm during a traffic stop or other incident, what happens next surprises a lot of people. Your case does not stay in Beverly Hills. It goes to the Los Angeles County District Attorney for filing, and if charges are filed, you will be answering them in a courtroom near LAX. A Beverly Hills criminal gun attorney who already works those calendars can tell you what you are walking into before your first appearance.
WHERE BEVERLY HILLS GUN CASES ARE ACTUALLY HEARD
Beverly Hills has its own police department, but it does not have a city prosecutor who files criminal cases. That changes two things about your case.
- The District Attorney reviews everything. Cities like Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Pasadena have their own prosecutors handling misdemeanors. Beverly Hills does not, so BHPD submits both misdemeanor and felony arrests to the LA County DA's office.
- Your hearings are at the Airport Courthouse. The Beverly Hills Courthouse on Burton Way stopped hearing criminal matters after the 2013 court consolidation. Criminal cases from Beverly Hills and West Hollywood moved to the Airport Courthouse at 11701 S. La Cienega Boulevard, and that is where the vast majority of them are still heard today.
People do show up at the Burton Way building by mistake, because it is still open for civil and traffic matters. Check the courthouse listed on your citation or bail paperwork, and call us if it does not match what you expected.
HOW GUN CHARGES COME UP IN BEVERLY HILLS
The fact pattern here tends to look different from the rest of the county. A lot of these cases involve people who were not doing anything they understood to be criminal.
- A firearm in the glove box or center console during a vehicle stop, often discovered during a search after an unrelated stop.
- Visitors carrying under a permit issued by another state. California does not honor out-of-state carry permits, and a permit that is perfectly valid at home means nothing on Canon Drive.
- Hotel staff, valets, or building security reporting a firearm in a room, a bag, or a vehicle.
- Inherited or estate firearms, unregistered in California, turning up during a move or after police respond to the home for something else.
- Private security and personal protection work performed without the exposed firearm permit California requires.
- A firearm displayed during an argument outside a restaurant or store, which is often charged as brandishing.
CHARGES WE DEFEND MOST OFTEN
- Carrying a concealed firearm, Penal Code 25400
- Carrying a loaded firearm in public, Penal Code 25850
- Brandishing a firearm, Penal Code 417
- Assault with a firearm, Penal Code 245(a)(2)
- Assault with a deadly weapon, Penal Code 245(a)(1)
- Possession of a firearm by a person with a prior felony conviction, Penal Code 29800
- Possession of an unregistered assault weapon, Penal Code 30605
- Negligent discharge of a firearm, Penal Code 246.3
- Possession of a large-capacity magazine, Penal Code 32310
- Possession of prohibited weapons, including switchblades and brass knuckles, Penal Code 16590
HOW GUN ENHANCEMENTS CHANGE THE SENTENCE
California adds time on top of the sentence for the underlying felony when a firearm is involved. Which enhancement applies depends on the offense and on what you are alleged to have done with the gun.
- Penal Code 12022 adds one year for being armed during a felony, even if the firearm was never used.
- Penal Code 12022.5 adds 3, 4, or 10 years for personally using a firearm during a felony.
- Penal Code 12022.53, known as the 10-20-life law, applies to a specific list of serious felonies such as robbery, carjacking, and kidnapping. It adds 10 years for personally using a firearm, 20 years for intentionally discharging it, and 25 years to life if that discharge causes great bodily injury or death.
These are consecutive, meaning they stack on top of the base sentence rather than running alongside it. There is one important opening: since Senate Bill 620, a judge has discretion to strike a firearm enhancement in the interest of justice. Persuading a court to do that is a large part of the work in a serious gun case, and it starts long before sentencing.
PENALTIES YOU COULD FACE
- Carrying a concealed or loaded firearm: up to one year in county jail as a misdemeanor, up to three years if charged as a felony
- Brandishing a firearm: up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000
- Assault with a firearm: up to four years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000
- Firearm possession after a felony conviction: up to three years in prison
- Large-capacity magazine offenses: up to one year as a misdemeanor, up to three years as a felony
- Bringing a firearm into a prohibited area: six months to seven years depending on the location
WHAT A CONVICTION COSTS AFTER THE SENTENCE
The jail time is not the part that follows you longest. A firearm conviction reaches into things you may not have thought about yet.
- Your gun rights. A felony conviction means a lifetime ban on possessing firearms in California. Certain misdemeanor convictions carry a ten-year ban.
- Your immigration status. Firearm offenses are deportable offenses under federal law, and that applies to lawful permanent residents as well as visa holders.
- Your professional license. State licensing boards get notified, and a weapons conviction can trigger review or suspension.
- Housing and employment. Landlords and employers run background checks, and a firearms conviction is one of the things they look for.
- Custody and visitation. A weapons conviction can become the centerpiece of a modification request from the other parent.
COMMON DEFENSES TO GUN CHARGES
- The search was unlawful. Most Beverly Hills gun cases begin with a vehicle or person search. If officers lacked a lawful basis, a motion to suppress under Penal Code 1538.5 can take the firearm out of evidence, and without the firearm there is usually no case.
- You did not knowingly possess it. The prosecution has to prove you knew the gun was there and had control over it. A firearm in a borrowed car, a shared apartment, or a bag someone else packed is not automatically yours.
- You were transporting it lawfully. California allows an unloaded handgun to be carried in a locked container in a vehicle. Whether the container qualified is often the entire fight.
- You acted in self-defense. A reasonable fear of death or serious injury can justify displaying or using a firearm.
- The discharge was accidental. Several firearm offenses require intent. If the weapon went off without it, the charge may not hold.
- You were entrapped. Police cannot pressure someone into an offense they had no intention of committing.
The window for the strongest of these arguments is early, sometimes before charges are even filed. The DA has not made a filing decision yet in many cases, and that is a conversation worth having.
TALK TO A BEVERLY HILLS CRIMINAL GUN ATTORNEY
Cyrus Tabibnia has spent more than 20 years defending criminal cases in Los Angeles County courts, including the Airport Courthouse where Beverly Hills gun cases are heard. You work with him directly rather than a junior associate, and he speaks English, Persian, and Spanish.
Call to talk through what happened. He will tell you what you are facing, whether the search holds up, and what comes next.
