People v. Lee

A jury convicted DeAndre Lee of conspiracy to furnish a controlled substance to a prison inmate (Pen. Code, §§ 182, subd. (a)(1), 4573.9), and he admitted having suffered a prior conviction under the three strikes law (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d)). He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay a restitution fine, and he now appeals.

In the published portion of our opinion, we will reject Lee’s contention that, as a prison inmate, he could not properly be charged with, or convicted of, conspiring to violate section 4573.9. In the unpublished portion of our opinion, we will conclude the trial court did not improperly sentence Lee to an upper, doubled term. Accordingly, we will affirm the judgment.

FACTS

As a result of monitored telephone conversations between Lee, an inmate in the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility (SATE) at Corcoran State Prison, and his wife, Felicia Rush, correctional officers suspected Rush would be smuggling drugs into the prison at Lee’s behest on July 12, 2003. A search warrant was obtained for Rush, who was intercepted upon her arrival for visitation that day. During the search, she relinquished a green condom…