California Penal Code § 4574 PC makes bringing weapons into detention centers a felony carrying two, three, or four years in prison (though bringing in tear gas that does not get released is only a misdemeanor carrying up to six months in jail and/or $1,000). Meanwhile, jail inmates found in possession of weapons face felony charges carrying two, three, or four years in prison.
The entirety of the statute is:
PC 4574. Unlawful bringing or sending of firearm, deadly weapon, or explosives; unlawful possession of firearm, deadly weapon, explosive, tear gas, or tear gas weapon
(a) Except when otherwise authorized by law, or when authorized by the person in charge of the prison or other institution referred to in this section or by an officer of the institution empowered by the person in charge of the institution to give such authorization, any person, who knowingly brings or sends into, or knowingly assists in bringing into, or sending into, any state prison or prison road camp or prison forestry camp, or other prison camp or prison farm or any other place where prisoners of the state prison are located under the custody of prison officials, officers or employees, or any jail or any county road camp in this state, or within the grounds belonging or adjacent to any such institution, any firearms, deadly weapons, or explosives, and any person who, while lawfully confined in a jail or county road camp possesses therein any firearm, deadly weapon, explosive, tear gas or tear gas weapon, is guilty of a felony and punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two, three, or four years.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (a), any person who knowingly brings or sends into those places any tear gas or tear gas weapons which results in the release of such tear gas or use of such weapon is guilty of a felony and punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two, three, or four years.
(c) Except as provided in subdivision (a), any person who knowingly brings or sends into those places any tear gas or tear gas weapons is guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Legal Analysis
California Penal Code 4574 PC prohibits knowingly mailing, bringing, or otherwise sending guns, deadly weapons, explosives, tear gas or tear gas weapons into any of the following incarceration locations:
- state prisons,
- prison road camps,
- prison forestry camps,
- all other places that have custody of state prisoners,
- jails,
- county road camps, or
- the grounds belonging to any of the above locations.
The statute also prohibits jail inmates from possessing guns, deadly weapons, explosives, tear gas, or tear gas weapons.
Example: Mary has a contact visit with her incarcerated husband Bill in a rural California prison. Video cameras show that Mary slipped Bill a pistol. Here, both Mary and Bill could be charged with a felony for violating PC 4574.
The penalties for violating PC 4574 turn on the specifics of the case:
| Sending or bringing guns, weapons, explosives, or tear gas that get released into a jail or prison | Felony – 2, 3, or 4 years in prison |
| Sending or bringing tear gas that does not get released into a jail or prison | Misdemeanor – Up to 6 months in jail and/or $1,000 |
| Possession of a firearm, deadly weapon, explosive, or tear gas by a jail inmate | Felony – 2, 3, or 4 years in prison1 |
PC 4574 makes it a California felony to bring guns into a prison or jail.
See our related article on Penal Code 4502 PC – Weapons in California Penal Institutions.
Legal References
- California Penal Code 4574 PC – Unlawful bringing or sending of firearm, deadly weapon, or explosives; unlawful possession of firearm, deadly weapon, explosive, tear gas, or tear gas weapon. See also United States v. Mitchell (9th Cir. Cal. 2010), 624 F.3d 1023; People v. Ross (Cal. App. 2d Dist. 2008), 162 Cal. App. 4th 1184.