Brandishing A Fake Gun
It is illegal to brandish a fake weapon, a replica gun, with the intent to threaten or scare another person basically. This comes up a lot in Los Angeles, where people are driving around with fake guns in their cars.
Maybe they're going to play a joke on somebody and scare them and point a gun at them. Maybe they had become involved in an argument or a fight, and they pull the fake gun out and point it at them, then they're going to violate California Penal Code Section 417.4.
They're going to be looking at a misdemeanor charge, and it's a minimum of thirty days in jail if you get convicted of brandishing a replica gun or fake gun in Los Angeles County.
Obviously, this can lead to bigger acts of violence. You could pull out a fake gun, and somebody else could pull out a real gun and start firing, hit other people, hit you – it's just a situation where we don't want people to be rolling around with fake guns and using them to threaten or intimidate people.
Fake Guns to Commit Violent Crimes
Another thing people are doing with fake guns is they are using them to commit robberies. They are using them to commit other violent crimes in Los Angeles.
Hence, the police, prosecutors, and judges are very sensitive when it comes to brandishing or utilizing fake guns in the commission of crimes or to scare people or intimidate them. Gang members can have these fake or replica guns. People could be driving around trying to scare other people and point them at them.
If you're caught with brandishing a fake weapon, this is a serious charge. You're going to want to get an attorney immediately who can get your side of the story across. I know from doing this for twenty-five years that sometimes, in these brandishing or replica guns, the prosecutors and the police can take a really harsh line, but a lot of times, they don't have the full story.
They don't know everything that happened, and they don't have your version of events. The police have done a one-sided investigation without even getting your statements sometimes. They arrest you.
They throw you in the back of a police car. Now, you have to go into criminal court in LA, and you have to face a violation of Penal Code §417.4 – exhibiting a replica gun.
Defenses To Brandishing A Replica Or Fake Gun
One defense is self-defense, believe it or not. It's a difficult circumstance because under what circumstances would you be able to pull a fake gun?
Well, if somebody threatened you with a gun and you pulled the fake gun out in order to defend yourself – to show them that you were not going to be intimidated.
And if they tried to shoot you, then you could shoot them back. That definitely could be a self-defense situation. But again, a lot of times, I'm seeing people who are involved in situations where they're pulling out fake guns where they're up to no good.
They're up to a situation where they're trying to rob somebody or intimidate them, and somebody else pulls out a gun. So, you really have to have a clean, good self-defense claim in order to use this in brandishing a fake weapon case.
There are other circumstances. Certainly, you can have a fake weapon if you're working on some sort of movie or you have a legitimate reason for having the replica gun or the fake gun.
There are all sorts of different defenses. Many of the defenses revolve around the facts and circumstances of the case. Sometimes, the police arrest somebody and charge them with violating Penal Code §417.4, but they don't have all the facts and details.
Once all the facts and details come to light through your criminal defense attorney, now you're in a position where you can defend yourself and say hey, wait a minute. I wasn't trying to cause any trouble. I wasn't trying to steal anything.
I wasn't trying to threaten or intimidate anybody. I had the replica/fake gun for a reason, and here's what the reason was. You bring proof as to why that was the reason for having the replica gun, and then you can defend these replica gun cases because you don't want to go to jail.
You don't want to have a mark on your record for the rest of your life – even if it's a replica gun. People who see that when you're looking for a job are not going to hire you if they see you with a criminal charge on your record where you actually did some jail time.
Consult with our Criminal Lawyers
So, suppose you've got one of these possessions of a replica gun case in Los Angeles in one of the courthouses. In that case, you have to get with somebody like me who has done this for twenty-five years, knows how to handle these cases, knows how to present your side of the situation, and knows how to get down to the nitty-gritty so we can get you some sort of a resolution where you're record is protected.
We may be able to get the case dismissed or you get a lesser offense—something less egregious than having a replica weapon in Los Angeles. We get you out of the criminal justice system as fast as possible.
