People v. Corkrean

Opinion

POCHÉ, J.

Paul Eugene Corkrean was charged with possession of a machine gun in violation of Penal Code section 12220. A jury was waived and he was tried by the court. The court found him guilty and placed him on three years probation. The question presented by his appeal is whether an element of the crime proscribed by section 12220 is knowledge that the weapon possessed is an automatic one. We hold that it is not.

Facts

Solano County Deputy Sheriff Hall, responding to a civil dispute on Jamison Canyon Road, observed appellant’s car parked in the driveway. In plain view on the passenger…