Barrios

Defendant appeals from a judgment entered on a jury verdict convicting him of possession of a concealed dirk or dagger (Pen. Code, § 12020, subd.(a)). He contends: 1) the knife he possessed is not a dirk or dagger as a matter of law, and 2) the court incorrectly instructed the jury regarding the definition of “dirk or dagger.”

Facts

On April 22, 1991, Bakersfield city police officers received a report of an intoxicated person who possibly possessed a large knife. Police detained defendant as one matching the reported description. The officers searched defendant. They found a kitchen knife concealed from view inside the waistband of his pants. When asked about the knife, defendant said he carried it for protection and that there were people “after him.” He also said if anybody tried to touch him, “I’ll kill them.” Defendant described himself as “good with a knife.”

Prior to trial, defendant moved to exclude the knife from evidence on the basis the knife was not a “dirk or dagger” as a matter of law. Relying on People v. Ferguson (1970) 7 Cal.App.3d 13 [ 86 Cal.Rptr. 383 ], and In re Quintus W. (1981) 120 Cal.App.3d 640 [ 175 Cal.Rptr. 30 ], the court denied the motion.…