P. v. Salas
A neighbor called police after seeing Jaime Salas fire a semiautomatic handgun into the air. Salas refused to comply with the commands of responding officers and physically resisted their efforts to take him into custody.
An information charged Salas with discharging a firearm with gross negligence (Pen. Code, § 246.3, subd. (a)),[1] possession of a firearm by a felon (§ 12021, subd. (a)(1)), and resisting, obstructing or delaying a peace officer (§ 148, subd. (a)(1)). The information specially alleged Salas had suffered two prior serious or violent felony convictions for robbery (a juvenile adjudication and an adult conviction) within the meaning of the three strikes law (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d)) and one serious felony under section 667, subdivision (a)(1). Salas pleaded not guilty and denied the special allegations.
Prior to trial Salas filed motions to suppress evidence seized following a search of his apartment (§ 1538.5); bifurcate the trial of his prior conviction allegations; sanitize the prior felony conviction (robbery), which formed the basis for the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon; and preclude the People from introducing any photographs of, or otherwise referring to, the firearms found in his apartment. The trial court heard and granted these motions. Salas also moved to dismiss his prior strike convictions (People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497 (Romero); § 1385), which the court denied without prejudice, and to bifurcate trial on the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and exclude evidence of police emergency calls, which the court heard and denied.
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