People v. Olvera CA6

I. INTRODUCTION

The morning of March 27, 2011, Edgar Santana, a correctional officer, was offering inmates in a section of the Salinas Valley State Prison the opportunity to shower. Around 11:00 a.m., Santana approached the cell occupied by defendant Ariel Olvera and his cellmate. Defendant was serving a 13-year sentence following his May 2001 convictions by plea of carjacking (Pen. Code, § 215, subd. (a))1 and assault (§ 245, subd. (b)) involving personal use of a semiautomatic firearm (§ 12022.53, subd. (b)). Defendant was dressed and wearing shoes when Santana asked if he wanted a shower. Since defendant wanted a shower, Santana handcuffed him and escorted him to the shower. At the shower room, Santana said there would be an unclothed body search and a cell search. When Santana requested his clothing, defendant removed and handed over his right shoe. On looking inside the shoe twice, Santana noticed a fragment of a hard

1 Unspecified section references are to the Penal Code. plastic coffee cup sharpened to a point on one end with a handle on the other end made of cardboard and string. It was about five inches long and one inch wide. In Santana’s experience, it was a dirk or…