In Re Ricardo A.

The juvenile court sustained a petition charging Ricardo A. with carrying a dirk or dagger in violation of Penal Code section 12020, subdivision (a). [1] Violation of that section requires the dirk or dagger to be substantially concealed on the person of the offender.

Ricardo contends that the dirk he was carrying was in plain view. The juvenile court's finding that the dirk was substantially concealed was supported by evidence that the dirk appeared to be a pen and that the point was concealed behind Ricardo's ear. We affirm.

On August 28, 1998, Officer Karl Dyer was working as a detective at Channel Islands High School. He saw four or five persons, three of whom he recognized. All had shaved heads and baggy pants. Ricardo was one of them.

Officer Dyer conducted a patdown search for his safety. As he was patting down Ricardo he saw what from the front appeared to be a pen resting on his ear. When Officer Dyer moved around to Ricardo's back he saw that the pen was actually a dirk. A Bic pen had been modified so that a Phillip's head-screwdriver was inserted into the pen with the sharpened point protruding from the pen cap. The point of the screwdriver was at the…