People v. Wade
Annotate this CaseWade was charged with carrying a loaded firearm on his person (Pen. Code, 25850 (a)) for wearing a backpack containing a loaded revolver while being pursued by a police officer. The trial court granted defendant’s section 995 motion to dismiss, finding that defendant did not carry the firearm on his person under the reasoning in People v. Pellecer (2013), which held that a knife contained in a backpack is not carried “on the person.” The court appeal reversed. A defendant wearing a backpack containing a firearm carries the firearm on his or her person. The court declined to apply the reasoning in Pellecer, to possession of a firearm concealed in a backpack in light of the historical interpretation of “carries a loaded firearm on the person” in California, which is in accord with decisions from other jurisdictions considering language similar to section 25850 (a).The purpose of the Act is to prevent a person from carrying a readily accessible concealed firearm. Pellecer is distinguishable: the defendant in Pellecer was leaning on his backpack, as opposed to defendant, who wore the backpack containing the revolver while fleeing from the officer, and concealed knives and firearms represent varying degrees of danger.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.