People v. Mendez CA4/2

BACKGROUND

Mendez was friends and coworkers with Jorge Cisneros, and the two frequently

went to lunch together. Cisneros was known by coworkers to have an affinity for guns

and violence. He sometimes showed coworkers pictures of guns and had magazines

about guns. One coworker later testified that Cisneros acted threatening and “tried to

fight me a couple times.” This same coworker testified Cisneros “would carry a weapon

and we were all just afraid that he might use it,” and he had mentioned wanting to get

into a gunfight. Cisneros brought a gun to work on at least one occasion. When a

coworker reported that Cisneros had brought a gun, both Mendez and Cisneros threatened

the coworker. Mendez’s nickname for Cisneros was “Matone,” which he testified was

Spanish for “killer.”

In November of that year Cisneros and Mendez left work for lunch. Instead of

getting food, the two went to a check cashing and payday loan store. When Mendez and

Cisneros arrived at the store, Cisneros showed Mendez that he had a gun. Mendez

1 Unlabeled statutory citations are to the Penal Code.

2 testified that until that point he did not know they planned to rob the store, and when he

expressed…