By Nic Cocis, Criminal Defense Attorney — California State Bar member since 1999. Last reviewed September 2026. Most of the people I represent on these charges did not think they were committing a crime. They bought a rifle legally in Arizona or Nevada and moved to Southwest Riverside County. They built a lower receiver from…
Carrying a concealed firearm under California Penal Code § 25400 looks like a single offense on its face. In practice, it sits at the intersection of statute and constitution. Post-Bruen CCW reform under SB 2, a multi-tier punishment scheme that turns ordinary cases into mandatory felonies based on a single fact, and federal firearm-prohibition consequences…
California has some of the most complex firearm laws in the country, and the past several years have changed the landscape more than any period in modern memory. The Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision rewrote concealed carry permitting nationwide. California’s SB 2 (effective January 1, 2024) responded with new training requirements, new “sensitive places” rules,…
If you’ve had an accidental firearm discharge — your gun went off when you didn’t intend to fire it — the question that brought you here is probably the right one to be asking: is this a crime in California, and am I going to be charged? The short answer is that California’s negligent discharge…
California has one of the broadest “prohibited persons” frameworks in the country — a long list of people who cannot legally own, possess, or control a firearm, even one purchased legally years before the prohibition attached. The most common charge is felon in possession of a firearm under Penal Code § 29800, which carries a…
The trial for a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy who is accused of shooting an unarmed man outside a Murrieta bar when he was off duty is nearing its start date. According to the Murrieta Patch, the fatal shooting occurred in Dec. 2011. Evidently, the deputy had been at Spelly’s Pub and Grille when an argument…
A standard probation check has landed two people in jail when it was found they were manufacturing hash in a Murrieta home. They have been booked on drug possession and felony weapons charges. On Friday, July 5, 2013, officers arrived at the home in question and caught one of the suspects attempting to escape from…
You would think that if the police come out for one purpose that they are not allowed to search your home and arrest you for other reasons. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Just ask the Lake Elsinore man under arrest by the Riverside County Sheriff’s department. The sheriff’s department was called to investigate a…
When you are charged with any crime, whether you faced jail time or not, you probably were assigned a probationary period. In Riverside County, the probation term is usually 3 to 5 years long. During this period of time, there are a number of things that can ultimately result in you facing probation violations charges….
If you or a loved one is facing criminal charges in Southwest Riverside County, time is critical. Contact the Law Office of Nic Cocis today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.
