Fremont County District Court No. 16CR724 Honorable Ramsey
Lama, Judge
Philip
J. Weiser, Attorney General, Grant R. Fevurly, Assistant
Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee
Mallika L. Magner, Alternate Defense Counsel, Crested Butte,
Colorado, for Defendant-Appellant
OPINION
JUDGE
J.
¶
1 Defendant, Curtis Edward Whisler, appeals the judgment of
conviction entered after the trial court found him guilty of
possession of a weapon by a previous offender (POWPO). We
affirm. In so doing, we reject Whisler's contention that
his testimony that he had passed two background checks when
buying two of the guns at issue entitled him to assert the
affirmative defense of mistake of law as to all of the
weapons.
I.
Background
¶
2 While executing a search warrant of Whisler's home, a
police officer found methamphetamine and four guns, all of
which Whisler owned. Because Whisler had a prior felony
conviction, the People charged him with a single count of
POWPO.
¶
3 Before trial, Whisler endorsed the affirmative defense of
mistake of law. He also waived his right to a jury.
¶
4 During the bench trial, a police officer testified that he
found the following four firearms in Whisler's home while
executing a search warrant: a "Charles Day
12-gauge" shotgun, a "Marlin 22 Magnum" rifle,
a "410" shotgun, and a "22-caliber Ruger"
pistol. The prosecutor introduced the guns into evidence.
¶
5 Whisler testified in his defense. He admitted that he had a
prior felony conviction for attempted possession of a
controlled substance. And he admitted that he had possessed
the four guns. But he also testified that
• he bought the 12-gauge shotgun at a Walmart in
Cañon City about ten to twelve years earlier after
undergoing a background check;
• he bought the rifle at a Walmart in Salida after
undergoing a background check;
• he bought one of the other two guns from a friend who,
Whisler "imagine[d]," had "probably"
conducted a ...