Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: taking the blame for charges

The passenger can testify at the defendant's trial and say that the gun was hers, but the jury does not have to believe this testimony.

I'm not sure what the charges are in this case, but the most common gun offense is possession of a firearm by a felon, which is a felony in its own right. Depending upon what the prior felony was, the possession charge can be a second or third strike, which would lead to a lengthy prison sentence. Because possession of a firearm by a non-felon is a much less serious matter, friends and relatives with clean records often try to take the blame on behalf of a defendant who is actually guilty. Police know this, prosecutors know it, and judges know it. By the time a case is submitted to a jury, the jurors know it, too.

Besides, most gun offenses relate to posession and not to ownership. These are two different concepts. Two people can simultaneously be in possession of the same item, even if only one of them actually owns it. For example, when the owner of a car lets her friend drive it while she sits in the passenger seat, they are both in possession of the car. You were probably also both in possession of the contents of the car. If the defendant knew the gun was there, he is probably guilty as charged.