Is a defendant "armed with a firearm in the commission" of a felony?

Noting one is armed within the meaning of the statute if the individual has the firearm "available for use, either offensively or defensively" (People v. Bland, supra, 10 Cal.4th at p. 997), the court concluded that drug possession is a crime of a continuing nature and if the defendant "has a weapon available at any time during the felony to aid in its commission, the defendant is 'armed with a firearm in the commission . . . of a felony.'" (Id. at p. 999.) The court summarized its holding as follows: "[W]hen the prosecution has proved a charge of felony drug possession, and the evidence at trial shows that a firearm was found in close proximity to the illegal drugs in a place frequented by the defendant, a jury may reasonably infer (1) that the defendant knew of the firearm's presence, (2) that its presence together with the drugs was not accidental or coincidental, and (3) that, at some point during the period of illegal drug possession, the defendant was present with both the drugs and the firearm and thus that the firearm was available for the defendant to put to immediate use to aid in the drug possession. These reasonable inferences, if not refuted by defense evidence, are sufficient to warrant a determination that the defendant was 'armed with a firearm in the commission' of a felony within the meaning of section 12022." (Id. at pp. 1002-1003.)

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