P.

FACTS

Prosecution Case In the afternoon on October 8, 2011, (October 8), Elizabeth Tapia was walking with her three-year-old son along Olive Avenue in Fresno, on her way to the motel where she and her husband worked, when appellant and appellant’s codefendant, James Hill, approached her. Tapia had seen the couple in the area before but did not know them.

All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. We use the terms “strike,” in its noun form, and “strike conviction” as synonyms for “prior felony conviction” within the meaning of the “three strikes” law (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i); 1170.12), i.e., a prior felony conviction or juvenile adjudication that subjects a defendant to the increased punishment specified in the three strikes law. A criminal defendant’s request that a court dismiss one or more strike convictions pursuant to section 1385 is commonly called a Romero motion. (See People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497 (Romero).)

2 Appellant began talking to Tapia, telling her that Jesus loved her and complimenting her son. As appellant was talking, Hill, who was standing “off to the side” a few feet away,…