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Name: People v. Nguyen
Case #: G046081
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 4 DCA
Division: 3
Opinion Date: 01/18/2013
Summary

Conviction for attempted possession of an assault weapon was proper where AK-47 kit was not yet fully assembled. Nguyen purchased a kit on the Internet that contained all the parts necessary to assemble an AK-47 semiautomatic assault weapon. Police officers seized the partially assembled weapon during a search. Nguyen was convicted of attempted unlawful assault weapon activity and attempted possession of an assault weapon. On appeal, Nguyen argued that the statutory scheme will not support a conviction until the AK-47 is fully assembled and enables the shooter to fire repeated shots without reloading manually. The appellate court rejected his argument and affirmed. Given the intent of the statute as expressed, which is to protect the health, safety and security of citizens from the danger of assault weapons, it would be absurd to construe the statute as authorizing the possession of an AK-47 kit.