People v. Johnson CA1/3

BACKGROUND

One evening in September 2021, Jane Doe left her workplace in Redwood City and waited on the sidewalk for her husband. Johnson approached her and asked for money. He appeared sweaty and desperate, insisting three times that he needed money for food. When she responded she did not have any change, he displayed the handle of a knife. Doe stepped back, and he pulled out the entire knife, with a blade measuring approximately 12 inches long. Fearing that he would stab her, she tried to call the police. He told her not to call and then walked away. Just then, Doe’s husband arrived. Doe got into his car and said “that person right there had threatened me with a knife.” Her husband followed Johnson while she called 911 and described his location to the operator. Officers ultimately stopped Johnson a couple blocks away, and Doe identified him. The district attorney charged Johnson with attempted robbery while using a deadly and dangerous weapon. (Pen. Code, §§ 211, 212.5, 664, 12022, subd. (b)(1); undesignated statutory references are to this code.) The information further alleged he had a prior serious felony conviction (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)), and a conviction for a strike…