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Weapons Offense Defense Attorney
California has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, and a weapons charge can turn a single stop into a felony that follows you for life. Randall T. Shrout is a former Sacramento County prosecutor with 24 years defending firearm cases. How the police found the weapon often decides everything.
The weapons charges we defend
California's firearm statutes are broad, and prosecutors charge them aggressively. The most common weapons offenses fall into a few groups:
- Carrying a concealed weapon — Penal Code 25400. Carrying a concealed firearm on your person or in a vehicle without a valid license. Usually a misdemeanor, but it becomes a felony if the gun is stolen, loaded and unregistered, you are a prohibited person, or you have priors.
- Felon in possession — Penal Code 29800. A felony for anyone with a prior felony (or certain misdemeanors, or a drug addiction) to own or possess any firearm. A conviction can mean up to three years in custody.
- Assault with a firearm — Penal Code 245(a)(2). Assault committed with a firearm. This is a serious felony that exposes you to state prison and can be charged as a strike under some circumstances.
- Carrying a loaded firearm in public — Penal Code 25850 and related possession, brandishing, and prohibited-weapon offenses.
The vast majority of weapons charges begin with a traffic stop, a pat-down, or a vehicle search. If the police lacked probable cause or violated your Fourth Amendment rights, the firearm can be suppressed — and without the gun in evidence, the case often collapses. A former prosecutor knows exactly where these searches go wrong.
Firearm sentence enhancements
Weapons allegations are dangerous because of what they add to other charges. California's enhancement statutes — Penal Code 12022.5 and 12022.53, often called the "use a gun and you're done" laws — can add years, and in some cases decades, on top of the sentence for the underlying felony when a firearm is used, or discharged, during the crime. A robbery or assault that carries a few years can suddenly carry ten, twenty, or twenty-five-to-life once an enhancement is attached. Fighting the enhancement is frequently as important as fighting the base charge, and it is one of the first things Attorney Shrout evaluates.
Why a former prosecutor matters here
Before he spent decades defending people, Attorney Shrout prosecuted cases for the Sacramento County District Attorney. He has charged weapons cases from the other side, so he knows how they are assembled and where the pressure points are — whether the search was clean, whether the state can prove you knowingly possessed the weapon, whether an enhancement is really supported by the facts, and where a felony can be pushed down to a misdemeanor or dismissed outright. He is admitted to the California State Bar (#213838) and appears in Sacramento County Superior Court and courts across all 58 California counties.
Common defenses to weapons charges
- Unlawful search and seizure — suppressing the firearm when police lacked probable cause or exceeded the scope of a lawful stop.
- Lack of knowing possession — you did not know the weapon was present, as in a borrowed or shared vehicle.
- No actual or constructive possession — the firearm was not yours and was not under your control.
- Lawful-carry exceptions — a valid license, transport in a locked container, or another statutory exception applied.
- Challenging the enhancement — the evidence does not support that a firearm was used or discharged as alleged.
Sacramento weapons cases
Firearm charges in the Sacramento area are prosecuted at Sacramento County Superior Court, and local prosecutors take them seriously. Attorney Shrout practices in these courtrooms regularly and knows how the DA's office approaches gun cases. That knowledge lets him move early to suppress evidence, attack weak enhancements, and negotiate a resolution that keeps a first mistake from becoming a life sentence — or take the case to trial when that is the right call.
Frequently asked questions
What is carrying a concealed weapon under PC 25400?
Carrying a concealed firearm on you or in your vehicle without a valid license. It is usually a misdemeanor but becomes a felony when the gun is stolen, you are a prohibited person, it is loaded and unregistered, or you have priors.
What happens if a felon is caught with a firearm?
Under PC 29800 it is a felony that can bring up to three years in custody. Defenses often turn on whether you actually possessed the weapon and whether the search was legal.
Can a gun enhancement add time to my sentence?
Yes. Enhancements under PC 12022.5 and 12022.53 can add years or decades on top of the underlying felony when a firearm is used or discharged. Fighting the enhancement is often as important as fighting the base charge.
Can a weapons charge be dismissed?
Often, yes. If police lacked probable cause, the firearm evidence can be suppressed and the case can fall apart. Lack of knowing possession and lawful-carry exceptions are also common defenses. The consultation is free.
Facing a weapons charge? Tell Randall what happened.
Every case begins with a free, confidential consultation — an honest read on the charges, your options, and a transparent fee estimate. How the police found the weapon may be the whole case.
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