People v. Mack CA3

BACKGROUND FACTS AND PROCEDURE

An information charged defendant with possession of a weapon (specifically, a sharp instrument) in prison (§ 4502, subd. (a); count I), and alleged that he had suffered three prior strike convictions within the meaning of the Three Strikes law (§ 667, subds. (b)-(i)). Defendant pleaded not guilty. A. Prosecution evidence On March 29, 2018, Correctional Officer Ricky Reynolds was using a low-dose body scanner at High Desert State Prison to scan prisoners being received from California State Prison, Sacramento. When defendant was scanned, Reynolds noticed two dark objects beneath defendant’s clothing that appeared to be inmate-manufactured weapons: one in defendant’s groin area and the other in the vicinity of his knee. Reynolds moved defendant to a holding cell and called for an investigative services unit officer. Correctional Officer Clinton Morris from the investigative services unit arrived and spoke with defendant. As a result of that conversation, defendant reached into his waistband area, near his groin, and produced a glass weapon, approximately eight and a half inches long, with an “extremely sharp” tip. An officer then removed a second…