Facing Gun Charges in Los Angeles? Speak to an Experienced Defense Attorney Today

Strategic defense against firearm enhancements, illegal search and seizure, and complex state or federal weapons charges.

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Los Angeles
Gun Crime Lawyer

If you have been charged with a gun crime in Los Angeles, you are facing one of the most aggressively prosecuted categories of criminal offense in California. At The Law Offices of Arash Hashemi, our gun crime lawyer has spent over 20 years defending Los Angeles residents against firearms charges at every level, from misdemeanor carrying offenses to felony assault with a firearm. We know how these cases are built, where the evidence can be challenged, and how to fight back to protect everything at stake. If you need a gun crime lawyer in Los Angeles, contact our firm immediately. 

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Van Nuys criminal lawyer Arash Hashemi providing defense for felony and misdemeanor charges.

Gun Crime Charges We Defend in Los Angeles

California firearms law is among the most complex and strictly enforced in the country. A single arrest can result in multiple overlapping charges, and the specific offense charged determines the severity of penalties, sentencing enhancements, and collateral consequences you face. Our gun crime lawyer defends clients against all of the following charges in Los Angeles:

Carrying a Concealed Firearm (Penal Code § 25400)

Carrying a concealed firearm on your person or in a vehicle without a valid concealed carry permit is a wobbler offense in California. It can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on your prior record and the circumstances of the arrest. A felony conviction carries 16 months, 2, or 3 years in state prison and triggers a lifetime firearms ban under federal law.

Carrying a Loaded Firearm in Public (Penal Code § 25850)

Carrying a loaded firearm in a public place or on a public street in an incorporated city is a misdemeanor for most first-time offenders, but becomes a felony if the firearm is stolen, if the defendant is not the registered owner, or if the defendant has a prior felony or certain misdemeanor convictions. Our firm challenges the legality of the stop and search in every carrying case.

Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person (Penal Code § 29800 / § 29900)

California law prohibits certain individuals from owning or possessing firearms, including convicted felons, individuals with certain misdemeanor convictions, persons subject to domestic violence restraining orders, and those who have been involuntarily committed for mental health treatment. Possession of a firearm by a prohibited person is a felony carrying 16 months, 2, or 3 years in state prison — and federal charges under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) carry up to 10 years in federal prison.

Assault with a Firearm (Penal Code § 245(a)(2))

Assault with a firearm is a felony and a strike offense under California’s Three Strikes law, carrying 2, 3, or 4 years in state prison — with significant enhancements for personal use, discharge, or causing great bodily injury. When charged in connection with another violent offense, the consequences escalate dramatically. Our gun crime lawyer has extensive experience defending assault with a firearm charges in Los Angeles County courts.

Shooting at an Inhabited Dwelling or Vehicle (Penal Code § 246)

Discharging a firearm at an inhabited dwelling house, vehicle, aircraft, or housecar is a felony carrying 3, 5, or 7 years in state prison. This charge frequently accompanies gang enhancement allegations, which can transform the sentence into a life term. It is a strike offense and one of the most serious gun charges filed in Los Angeles.

Negligent Discharge of a Firearm (Penal Code § 246.3)

Willfully discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner that could result in injury or death to a person is a wobbler offense. When charged as a felony, it carries 16 months, 2, or 3 years in state prison. Our firm challenges the element of gross negligence and the prosecution’s characterization of the circumstances surrounding the discharge.

Possession of an Illegal or Unregistered Firearm

California prohibits the possession of certain categories of firearms entirely, regardless of the owner’s otherwise lawful status. These include assault weapons (Penal Code § 30605), .50 BMG rifles (Penal Code § 30610), short-barreled shotguns and rifles (Penal Code § 33215), machine guns (Penal Code § 32625), and undetectable firearms. Possession of any of these weapons is a felony. Our firm also defends charges involving ghost guns and unserialized firearms, which California prosecutors have been pursuing aggressively.

Brandishing a Weapon (Penal Code § 417)

Drawing or exhibiting a firearm in a threatening manner in the presence of another person is a wobbler offense that can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony depending on where it occurred and whether it involved a deadly weapon. Our firm challenges the intent and context underlying brandishing allegations, which frequently arise from disputed confrontations and road rage incidents.

Drive-By Shooting (Penal Code § 26100)

Allowing another person to discharge a firearm from your vehicle, or discharging a firearm from a vehicle yourself, carries felony penalties and is frequently charged alongside gang enhancements. Drive-by shooting prosecutions in Los Angeles are heavily reliant on eyewitness testimony and surveillance footage — both of which our firm scrutinizes aggressively.

California’s Firearms Laws: What Every Defendant Needs to Understand

Assault Weapon Restrictions

California’s Assault Weapons Control Act (AWCA) bans the manufacture, sale, transfer, and possession of assault weapons as defined by California law. The definition is broad and has been expanded multiple times. Many firearms that are legal in other states are classified as assault weapons in California, and possession is a felony. Our firm challenges assault weapon classifications and the application of the AWCA in every applicable case.

Ghost Guns and Unserialized Firearms

California law requires all privately manufactured firearms to be serialized and registered with the DOJ. Possession of an unserialized “ghost gun” is a criminal offense, and Los Angeles law enforcement has been targeting ghost gun cases with increasing frequency. Prosecutors treat these cases as high priority, and the penalties are serious. Our firm defends ghost gun charges and challenges the constitutional and evidentiary basis of these prosecutions.

Firearm Storage Laws and Child Access Prevention

California law requires firearms to be stored securely when not in use, particularly in homes with children. Criminal storage of a firearm (Penal Code § 25100) is a misdemeanor or felony depending on whether a child gained access to the weapon and whether harm resulted. Our firm defends criminal storage charges and challenges the prosecution’s evidence regarding the circumstances of storage and access.

The 10-Day Waiting Period and Background Check Requirements

California requires a 10-day waiting period and a Department of Justice background check for all firearm purchases. Violations of these requirements — including straw purchases made on behalf of prohibited persons — are criminal offenses at both the state and federal level. Our firm defends straw purchase allegations and challenges the prosecution’s evidence of intent and knowledge.

Gun Crime Penalties: Sentences and Enhancements

The penalties for gun crime convictions in Los Angeles depend on the specific charge, your prior criminal history, and whether sentence enhancements apply. The following represents the range of consequences defendants commonly face:

Statutory Penalties for Firearm Offenses:

  • Carrying a concealed firearm (felony): 16 months, 2, or 3 years in state prison
  • Possession of firearm by prohibited person (state): 16 months, 2, or 3 years
  • Possession of firearm by prohibited person (federal § 922(g)): up to 10 years federal prison
  • Assault with a firearm: 2, 3, or 4 years in state prison (strike offense)
  • Shooting at inhabited dwelling (PC § 246): 3, 5, or 7 years (strike offense)
  • Possession of assault weapon: 16 months, 2, or 3 years
  • Drive-by shooting: 3, 5, or 7 years

Firearm Sentence Enhancements (Penal Code § 12022.5 / § 12022.53):

  • Personal use of a firearm in commission of a felony: +3, 4, or 10 years
  • Personal and intentional discharge of a firearm: +20 years
  • Discharge causing great bodily injury or death: +25 years to life

Gang Enhancement (Penal Code § 186.22):

When a gun offense is alleged to have been committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang, sentencing consequences are dramatically increased. Certain offenses become life sentences when a gang enhancement is attached. Our gun crime lawyer challenges gang enhancement allegations in every applicable case, scrutinizing the evidence of gang membership and the alleged gang nexus to the offense.

How Los Angeles Prosecutors Build Gun Crime Cases

  • Traffic and Pedestrian Stops — The majority of illegal firearms are discovered during traffic stops or pedestrian detentions. The legality of the stop itself is often the most powerful issue in the case. If law enforcement lacked reasonable suspicion to stop you or probable cause to search your vehicle, any firearm discovered as a result may be suppressible under the Fourth Amendment.
  • Search Warrants — In larger investigations, law enforcement obtains search warrants to search homes, vehicles, and storage facilities for firearms. Our firm scrutinizes warrant applications for probable cause deficiencies, overbreadth, and misrepresentations made by officers in the warrant affidavit. An invalid warrant can result in suppression of all evidence obtained in the search.
  • Informant Tips — Gun cases are frequently initiated by tips from confidential informants. Informants have their own motivations, and the reliability of the information they provide must meet constitutional standards before it can support a search or arrest. Our firm investigates informant backgrounds and challenges the reliability of informant-based probable cause.
  • Gang Intelligence and Surveillance — In gang-related gun cases, law enforcement relies on gang unit surveillance, field identification cards, and social media monitoring to establish gang membership and the alleged connection between the defendant and a criminal street gang. Our firm challenges gang expert testimony and the evidentiary foundation of gang enhancement allegations.
  • Digital Evidence — Text messages, social media posts, and photographs depicting firearms are increasingly used by prosecutors to establish possession, intent, and gang affiliation. Our firm challenges the admissibility and interpretation of digital evidence and examines how it was obtained.

Legal Defenses Against Gun Charges in Los Angeles

Unlawful Search and Seizure — The Fourth Amendment

This is the single most powerful defense available in gun cases. The overwhelming majority of firearms charges in Los Angeles arise from traffic stops, pedestrian stops, or searches of homes and vehicles. If the stop lacked reasonable suspicion, if the search was conducted without a valid warrant or a recognized exception, or if officers exceeded the scope of an authorized search, the firearm evidence may be suppressed entirely. Without the gun, the prosecution has no case.

Lack of Knowing Possession

To convict you of a firearm possession offense, the prosecution must prove that you knew the firearm was present and knew you were in possession of it. If a gun was found in a shared vehicle, a borrowed bag, a common area of a residence, or a location accessible to multiple people, the element of knowing possession can often be effectively challenged. Our firm builds these arguments carefully using the physical evidence, witness accounts, and the specific circumstances of the search.

Challenging the Firearm’s Legal Classification

Whether a firearm qualifies as an “assault weapon” under California law, whether a magazine is a prohibited large-capacity magazine, or whether a specific modification triggers a weapons charge are all legal questions that require expert analysis. Our firm works with firearms experts to challenge the prosecution’s classification of weapons and components, and has successfully challenged assault weapon designations that were applied incorrectly.

Second Amendment Challenges

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decisions in Bruen (2022) and Heller (2008), the legal landscape for Second Amendment challenges to California’s firearms laws has shifted significantly. Courts are now required to evaluate firearms regulations against the historical tradition of firearms regulation in the United States. Our firm monitors developments in Second Amendment jurisprudence and pursues constitutional challenges where applicable.

Illegal Stop or Detention

If law enforcement stopped or detained you without reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity, any evidence discovered as a result of that detention — including a firearm — may be suppressible as fruit of the poisonous tree. Our firm examines the totality of the circumstances surrounding every stop and files suppression motions aggressively when the constitutional threshold was not met.

Challenging Gang Enhancement Allegations

Gang enhancements attached to gun charges can transform a manageable sentence into a life term. Our firm challenges gang enhancement allegations by contesting the defendant’s alleged gang membership, the reliability of gang expert testimony, and the sufficiency of the evidence connecting the offense to gang activity. Defeating a gang enhancement can be as important as defeating the underlying charge.

Why Los Angeles Clients Trust The Law Offices of Arash Hashemi with Their Gun Charges

Gun charges in Los Angeles move fast. From the moment of arrest, law enforcement is building its case — and every day without an experienced gun crime lawyer on your side is a day the prosecution has the advantage. Our firm has spent over 20 years defending firearms cases at every level of complexity in Los Angeles, and we bring that experience to every client we represent.

20 Years of Gun Crime Defense Across State and Federal Court Our gun crime lawyer has handled firearms cases ranging from first-time carrying offenses to felony assault with a firearm prosecutions and federal weapons trafficking matters in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. That range of experience across both state and federal court gives our clients a decisive edge that most defense firms simply cannot offer.

One Attorney Handles Your Case — Start to Finish At The Law Offices of Arash Hashemi, Attorney Hashemi works your case personally from the first call through the final resolution. You will never be handed to a junior associate or left without answers. When you call, he picks up. When you walk into court, he is standing beside you.

Our Fourth Amendment Defense Record The most effective defense in the majority of gun cases is a suppression motion challenging the legality of the stop, search, or seizure that produced the firearm. Our firm has:

  • Filed and won suppression motions that ended gun prosecutions before trial
  • Successfully challenged warrantless vehicle searches and unlawful pedestrian stops
  • Defeated search warrants obtained through insufficient or misleading affidavits

Fourth Amendment defense is not a fallback strategy for our firm — it is where we do some of our most important work.

Complete Coverage — State Court and Federal Court Many Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys handle state court cases only. Our firm defends gun charges in both California state court and in the United States District Court for the Central District of California — giving clients full coverage regardless of whether their case is prosecuted at the state or federal level.

Contact a Los Angeles Gun Crime Lawyer Today

If you have been charged with a gun crime in Los Angeles, do not wait. California firearms laws are unforgiving, the penalties are severe, and the prosecution begins building its case the moment you are arrested. The decisions made in the earliest stages of your defense — what to say, what not to say, and which legal challenges to pursue — will shape everything that follows.

At The Law Offices of Arash Hashemi, we have spent over 20 years defending Los Angeles residents against gun charges at every level. Call our firm immediately or schedule a confidential consultation with Attorney Hashemi using our secure online system. During your free, confidential consultation, we will analyze the specific facts of your case, identify every viable defense, and walk you through your legal options so you can make informed decisions about your defense from day one.

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We are conveniently located in the Westside Towers, serving clients charged with gun crimes across Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, the San Fernando Valley, Compton, Long Beach, and all surrounding communities. Contact our gun crime lawyer today — your defense starts the moment you call.