People v. Saraei CA5

STATEMENT OF FACTS

I. Correctional Officers Ponce and Mesa

On October 30, 2016, at approximately 9:25 a.m., Ponce and Mesa were monitoring a recreation yard at North Kern State Prison when they saw defendant—an inmate—“walking the opposite direction on the track,” a rule violation. Mesa repeatedly ordered defendant to reverse course, but defendant refused to comply. Instead, he approached the officers, “waved his arms in the air,” “pointed at [them],” and shouted, “You can’t tell me what to do mother fuckers.” Defendant was instructed to leave the yard. As he was “walking towards the yard gate to exit the yard,” Ponce and Mesa followed him. Defendant appeared “angry and belligerent.” After passing through the gate, as a safety precaution, Mesa ordered defendant to place his hands on a fence so that Ponce could handcuff him before entering the “program office area.” When Ponce moved in, defendant “took his hands off” the fence, “turned to his side,” and “proceeded to spit on [him].” Most of the saliva struck Ponce’s collar while a “spray of it landed on [his] chin area.” Defendant then “took a bladed stance with his fists closed.” He was subsequently subdued by Ponce. After…