People v. Neal

Officers Gragg and Morin responded to a report that a man (Neal) at the Antioch Marina was acting in a suicidal manner. Neal stated that he was previously in the military and had been a police officer and possessed weapons at his home. Neal, fluctuating between calmness and frustration, was transported to a hospital for psychological evaluation. Officers went to Neal’s residence and were met by Neal’s wife, Mimi, who “said something" like, "I don’t want these guns in my house.” She led them to the bedroom and asked them to look into a closet where they found six firearms. Neal had a prior felony conviction. Neal claimed that he intended to give the guns as gifts to his children and that he told the officers that the weapons were “part of [his father’s] probate estate" and had been delivered to the house. Neal testified that he believed that the rights he lost while on probation, including the possession of firearms, would be returned after his successful completion of probation. The court of appeal affirmed Neal's conviction for possession of a firearm by an ex-felon, upholding the denial of a motion to suppress. Gragg told Mimi her husband was on a section 5150 hold, but never suggested that any authority, empowered him to search her home. The court agreed that the probation supervision fee Neal was improperly imposed without any determination of Neal's ability to pay. View "People v. Neal" on Justia Law