People v. Woods CA5

INTRODUCTION

Appellant/defendant Tanya Lattrice Woods was charged with unlawful possession of heroin and narcotics paraphernalia while an inmate in state prison, with two prior strike convictions. She pleaded no contest to possession of a hypodermic needle by an inmate, admitted one prior strike conviction, and was sentenced to the stipulated term of eight years. On appeal, her appellate counsel has filed a brief which summarizes the facts, with citations to the record, raises no issues, and asks this court to independently review the record. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende).) We affirm.

FACTS1

On August 29, 2010, Correctional Officer Martinez was on duty at Valley State Prison for Women. She was checking the inmates as they returned from the yard into their units. She also conducted routine random searches of the inmates. Defendant was an inmate in Officer Martinez’s unit.2 Defendant occasionally used a wheelchair. As defendant returned from the yard, she was walking and pushing her wheelchair. A clear plastic tote bag was hanging from the chair. Officer Martinez searched the wheelchair and did not find any contraband. Martinez took control of the tote bag and…