Being Charged With Felon In Possession Of A Firearm For A Firearm I Knew Nothing About In A Car That’s Not Mine

Location: California. So about 2 months ago now i was using my buddies vehicle who has a concealed carry license. The car is in his name because it belongs to him. The firearm was in a hidden safe in the bottom of the center console. I guess it was a false bottom. The safe had a biometric fingerprint type thing to gain access to the items inside as well as a PIN code, which I didn’t/don't know. So when I got pulled over it was for window tints. I am searchable because I’m on PRCS for felon in possession of a firearm, which I understand looks bad in this scenario. However it is what it is. I can’t change the past and for this charge right here I am an innocent man in the sense that it's not my firearm and I had no knowledge of the thing being in the car. So when they searched the vehicle they did a real thorough search and after like an hour of sitting in the cop car they came to me and asked me what the code was for the safe. I was confused at first and when they made it clear what they were asking, I told them I don’t know anything about any safe anywhere. So they explain that on the safe, which is hidden at the bottom of the center console, theres a biometric unlock and a keypad to gain access, as well as a physical key, which I honestly couldnt tell you where that's at because all I know is, I never had the key or knowledge of it's existence. So I told them idk anything about anything. I allowed them to try all my fingers on the biometric pad and it didn’t open. After that, I realized they were gonna push this issue as far as they could so I respectfully told them I wanted my lawyer. So they took the car and forcefully gained access to the safe and inside was a Glock 17 with an extra mag. I got charged with a PRCS violation and felon in possession of a firearm. My public defender of course is pushing the textbook PD playbook, waive preliminary hearing and try to get the best deal possible. But honestly, I got how to handle the PD comfortably under control. So I want to be clear, I am not necessarily asking advice on what to do in this circumstance in regards to how to handle a trial with a PD. Unfortunately, this is gonna be my 4th felony trial, 3rd with a public defender, so I feel i know how to comfortably and respectfully stear my PD through a trial. Im not gonna get into the past cases because it doesn't matter if I'm 4-0 or 0-4. It has no bearing on this case. [also I'm not closed off to any advice. If you feel you know something that I should know that could assist me then by all means I'd be much appreciative for the advice and I'll certainly look into it.] What I am asking here and what I am having difficulty understsnding is, when applying the statute to my individual experience which I have laid out above, it seems to me like I legitimately did not break the law because i didn't have access to, or knowledge of, the firearm. I know that with my history I’m not allowed to own, possess or have access to any firearms so when I paroled to where I paroled to I had to intimately understand how the firearms in the house I was moving to would effect my ability to live there ... I had to to figure if the firearns which are legally owned on the property could be under the same roof with me. And there's plenty in the law that breaks down the legalities of how to be on parole at a shared residence with legal guns that are owned legally by a law abiding gun owner that lives in and owns the residence. And essentially, if the firearms are in a locked safe that I didn’t have access to, couldn't open, and was not in my personal bedroom, my partners guns could stay in the house. However it’s not very clear, or at least I couldn’t find anything on this when dealing with an automobile. So to be clear, I am asking for any guidance on how the felon in possession of a firearm statute can or hopefully shouldn't be applied to my circumstance. I'm trying to understand if, legally speaking, i broke any law. Also any insight on any argument a district attorney with a grudge could roll with when this trial goes down. Any help, advice or insight is much appreciated. Thanks a bunch.