Error and/or relief
We reverse count 5 because section 4502 permits only a single conviction for possession of more than one weapon at the same time and place in prison.
Holding:
Section 4502 permits only a single conviction for possession of more than one unlawful weapon at the same time and place in prison.
Authority:
People v. Rowland (1999) 75 Cal.App.4th 61, 64-67
(GARY NOTE: The opinion in Rowland relied on People v. Kirk (1989) 211 Cal.App.3d 58, which held that possession of more than one sawed-off shotgun at the same time could result in only one count of conviction under what was then section 12020.
(What was then section 12020 has since been broken down into numerous sections by the Deadly Weapons Recodification Act of 2010. Its provisions were spread among many new code sections. Best to look at the charging document for the charge, but also look for separate sections that may define the terms.
(Subsequent to Kirk, the Legislature amended what was then section 12001 (now section 17800) to clarify that possession of more than one prohibited weapon simultaneously constituted separate offenses, each of which could be charged. The legislation specified the code section affected by the amendment, and Rowland relied on the absence of mention of section 4502 to conclude that possession of more than one weapon simultaneously under section 4502 still was limited to a single count, at least in part on the principle of expressio unius est exclusio alterius (the expression of one thing is the exclusion of another). The holding in this Case 000332 applied to section 4502. Rowland and its progeny should be used very carefully, and be cited only if its rationale has not been legislated away with respect to your given facts.)