People v. Patterson

SCHOTTKY, J.

Defendant was charged by grand jury indictment with having violated sections 4501 and 4502 of the Penal Code. Section 4501 provides that a prisoner serving less than a life sentence in a state prison who commits an assault upon another with a deadly weapon is guilty of a felony. Section 4502 provides that every prisoner who, while under the custody of prison officials, has in his possession a knife, pistol or other deadly weapon is guilty of a felony.

Defendant pleaded not guilty to both counts, and following a trial was found guilty on both counts by a jury. Defendant has appealed from the judgment pronounced in accordance with the said verdicts.

Defendant urges a number of grounds for reversal of the judgment. Before discussing them we shall give a brief summary of the evidence as it appears in the record.

The defendant was an inmate at Folsom Prison. On July 22, 1952, at approximately 9:30 a. m., one Henry Balbuena, also an inmate at Folsom, was being escorted by officers Brown and Hargrove from the reception room at Warden Heinze’s office to the segregation room. One officer was on either side of Balbuena, each walking slightly to the rear of him. As they were walking down a corridor approaching building four there was an impact and Balbuena flinched. Brown turned around and saw a knife, but did not then see who had it. Then both Brown and Hargrove saw the defendant about 8 to 10 feet behind them with a knife in his hand. The two officers testified that defendant then stated: “I have been waiting a long time to do that.” At Brown’s request the defendant gave up the knife, and Brown then escorted him to the captain’s office. During the time of the incident neither of the officers saw anyone in the corridor other than Balbuena and the defendant. The officers did not see who did the actual stabbing. Balbuena was treated at the prison hospital for a wound of his back. While his condition was critical for a time, he eventually recovered.

It was testified that when defendant was taken to the captain’s office and asked if he had stabbed Balbuena he

[47]

stated: “Yes, I did.” He also said he had done it with the knife which he surrendered to Brown. Under further questioning defendant showed the officers in which location of the back he had stabbed Balbuena. Later the same day, on two occasions, defendant was overheard by Officer Thornton admitting to another inmate, one Perez, that he had stabbed Balbuena. A statement was taken from defendant in the warden’s office on the day of the stabbing, at which time defendant denied the stabbing and refused to state whether or not he was in the corridor at the time of the stabbing.