By Genesis Guzman
SACRAMENTO, CA –Jahwan Sanders appeared in Sacramento County Superior Court Monday, charged with being illegally, as a felon, in possession of a firearm and body armor on Dec 8, 2020—he insisted he didn’t own either item.
The preliminary hearing involved only the questioning, by Deputy District Attorney Allison Wieder and Assistant Public Defender Joshua Kurtz, of the officer who was called to conduct a probation search on Sanders last December.
Officer Ryan Franzen testified he was called to a residence on Shining Star Drive to conduct a probation search on Sanders, who, he said, was identified as a transient, with two vehicles and a driver’s license registered to him under the address on Shining Star Drive.
Before he got to the address, he conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle, where he saw Sanders in the passenger seat. 
Officer Franzen’s partner conducted a probation search of the vehicle and found a loaded Glock handgun underneath some carpeting under the center console on the passenger’s side of the vehicle.
After finding the firearm in the car Franzen said he and his partner went to the residence in Shining Star Drive where they found mail in Sanders’ name and spoke to Sanders’ father. who told them that Sanders sometimes stayed there.
The officers searched the garage and Franzen’s partner allegedly found body armor inside, a black 5-11 carrier (vest) with rifle plates. The officer further clarified the plates in the vest meant it was bullet resistant.
The officers spoke to Sanders’ father again, this time about the vest and he claimed he didn’t know it was in the garage.
PD Kurtz then questioned Officer Franzen on whether Sanders had tried to explain why he was in possession of both the vest and firearm.
The officer explained that once they were in the jail Sanders disclosed to him that “I did put the gun there, but it’s not mine…the driver handed it to me and asked me to conceal it.”
Sanders also allegedly admitted to Franzen that the body armor had been in the garage for approximately two years, and that his cousin had brought the body armor to him and asked him to sell it.
Judge Helena R Gweon ruled the court had found sufficient cause to find Sanders guilty and called him to answer. Sanders entered a non-guilty plea in anticipation of a trial.
