People v. Valle

Filed 7/14/25 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

THE PEOPLE, 2d Crim. No. B338909 (Super. Ct. No. 23F-05814) Plaintiff and Respondent, (San Luis Obispo County)

v.

DAVID VALLE,

Defendant and Appellant.

A prisoner who has a 14-inch by 1-inch hard non- flexible piece of plastic, sharpened to a point, is a danger to other prisoners and prison officials. This is a lethal weapon. As we shall explain, it is a crime to possess such an instrument in prison. David Valle is serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He appeals his conviction, by jury, of possessing a sharp instrument in prison. (Pen. Code section 4502.) 1 The trial court sentenced him, as a third-strike offender, to a term in prison of 25 years to life. Appellant contends section 4502 is unconstitutionally vague, both facially

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code.

and as applied to him, because it does not sufficiently define the term, “sharp instrument.” We affirm. Facts Appellant is an inmate at the California Men’s Colony. He was previously convicted of kidnapping (§ 209, subds. (a), (b)(1)), conspiracy (§ 182, subd. (a)), first degree attempted murder (§§ 664/187, subd. (a)), first degree robbery (§ 211), carjacking (§ 215, subd. (a)) and dissuading a witness by force or fear. (§ 136, subd. (c).) In December 2022, a corrections officer searched his cell, along with every other cell on the tier where appellant was housed. The officer found fragments of a plastic food tray after unrolling appellant’s mattress. One of the fragments measured about 14 inches long and 1 inch wide and had been sharpened to a point. The officer also found several metal fragments from a stainless steel shower valve cover. Some of these metal pieces had been concealed inside an N95 mask and others were hidden inside a greeting card in appellant’s mail. The officer also found a heavy, folded metal sheet, eight inches by five inches. The corrections officer described the sharpened plastic fragment as a weapon that resembled a spear or a knife. The plastic was “[not] flexible,” and had been “fashioned into a device that can be used for stabbing.” He explained that metal can also be fashioned into a weapon, so inmates are forbidden to keep metal fragments in their cells. The officer opined that the items recovered from appellant’s cell could be used as weapons. He believed it was most likely that appellant kept them to protect himself from other prisoners. When told that contraband had been found in his cell, appellant said, “‘It took you guys long enough. That stuff’s been