People v. Mendoza CA4/3

STATEMENT OF FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On the night of December 2, 2021, two men wearing ski masks and dark clothing exited an older model Jeep Cherokee in an alleyway behind the Xhale smoke shop (Xhale) in Apple Valley, where S.D. worked for his father. One of the men had a gun in his hand and robbed S.D. at gun point in the alleyway. A third individual, the driver, stayed inside the Jeep Cherokee. The gun had a silvery shine to it. S.D. was able to see the eyes of the man pointing the gun at him; they were distinctive, “like unproportional, kind of.” One of the men asked S.D. to open the smoke shop, even though S.D. had not mentioned Xhale during the robbery or that he worked there.1 The men attempted to disguise their voices during the robbery by speaking in a deeper tone. S.D. never saw the driver of the Jeep Cherokee. The man with the gun started “touching all around, feeling for if [S.D.] had a wallet or something.” The perpetrators took S.D.’s phone, keys, air pods, blanket, and backpack. One of the men, but not the person holding the gun, broke the passenger window of the car.

1 S.D. tried to exit his vehicle to open Xhale, but the perpetrators would not let him get…