People v. Anderson CA4/2

I. BACKGROUND

Shortly before 10 p.m. on September 10, 2022, an assistant manager and a security

officer at a homeless shelter in Riverside heard yelling. They stepped outside and saw

Jane Doe, a former resident, yell at defendant and appellant Lewis Anderson, who was

inside a van. Doe, who was outside the van and standing by the front passenger window,

walked around the front of the van toward the driver’s side and Anderson. Doe

demanded that Anderson return her purse. Doe walked near a wrought iron gate.

Anderson turned the van toward Doe and, according to the assistant manager, “looked

like he was trying to hit [Doe] and pin her against the gate.” Doe jumped out of the way,

and the van stopped before hitting the gate.

Anderson got out of the van and argued with Doe for several minutes. A staff

supervisor joined the other two employees. Doe walked away from Anderson and the

van. According to the assistant manager, Anderson got in the van, made a U-turn, and

“punched the gas again” toward Doe, getting “very close” to hitting her a second time

with the vehicle. The staff supervisor testified that Anderson “got in the car, pressed on

the gas, and turned it around…