Velasco

Defendant Ernest Jacinto Velasco appeals from a judgment of conviction entered on a jury verdict. The jury convicted him of possessing a shank in prison. On appeal, defendant claims that the state violated his constitutional rights when prison guards failed to gather and thereafter preserve other evidence they noticed when they found the shank.

We will affirm the judgment.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND AND FACTS

I. Procedural Background

A jury convicted defendant of one count of possessing a weapon while in penal custody. (Pen. Code, § 4502, subd. (a).) The jury found true two allegations that he had two prior convictions within the meaning of the “Three Strikes” law. (Id., §§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12, subd. (c)(2).) The trial court sentenced him to a prison term of 25 years to life, to be served consecutive to the terms he was already serving for convictions of attempting to murder two peace officers and inflicting great bodily injury on one of them.

II. Facts

A. Prosecution Case

Defendant is an inmate at the Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad and is subject to a protocol that stops inmates from entering the recreation yard until correctional officers have…