In re Joshua M. CA5

Filed 5/15/13 In re Joshua M. CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

In re JOSHUA M., a Person Coming Under The Juvenile Court Law.

THE PEOPLE, F065178

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. JJD065905)

v. OPINION JOSHUA M.,

Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Tulare County. Hugo J. Loza, Commissioner. Arthur L. Bowie, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Stephen G. Herndon and Darren K. Indermill, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

 Before Wiseman, Acting P.J., Kane, J., and Detjen, J.

INTRODUCTION On December 27, 2011, a petition was filed pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 alleging 14-year-old appellant, Joshua M., feloniously carried a dirk or dagger (Pen. Code, § 12020, subd. (a)(4)).1 At the conclusion of a contested jurisdiction hearing on April 25, 2012, the juvenile court found the allegation true beyond a reasonable doubt. At the disposition hearing on May 23, 2012, the juvenile court granted Joshua’s motion to treat the felony adjudication as a misdemeanor pursuant to section 17, subdivision (b). We reject Joshua’s contention on appeal that there was insufficient evidence before the juvenile court that he possessed a dirk or dagger. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS On December 22, 2011, at 5:30 p.m., Detective Hector Rodriguez of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department was working with the gang violence suppression unit and contacted Joshua at the corner of Avenue 404 and Muller Road in Cutler. Joshua was with three other people. Rodriguez asked the group if anyone had any weapons. Joshua replied that he had a sharp screwdriver in one of his pockets. While conducting a pat-down search of Joshua, Rodriguez found what initially appeared to be a screwdriver. Upon closer inspection, Rodriguez determined the object was a current tester, five inches long with a clear yellow handle that was partly broken. The current tester was received into evidence as People’s exhibit no. 1. Rodriguez testified that a current tester is usually connected by a wire to something else that registers whether or not there is an electrical current. This object had no wire, Joshua had no wires on his person, and there was no other device attached to the object. When Rodriguez asked Joshua if he was doing electrical work, Joshua replied