The People v. Rodriguez CA4/3

FACTS

The Robbery and Defendant’s Statements On June 29, 2008, at about 2:10 a.m., Ronald Santa Cruz was working as a cashier at a Shell gas station in Irvine. Two young men entered the gas station. One of the men, Armando Hernandez, demanded the money in the register and threatened to shoot Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz saw Hernandez had a gun and gave him the money. The other man attempted to throw a container of energy drinks at Santa Cruz, but the container was apparently too heavy. A video camera inside the gas station recorded the incident. After the robbery, Santa Cruz saw the two men walk to the back of the gas station. That was the last he saw of the men; he did not see them leave in a car. In October 2008, Detective Jeff Mundy of the Anaheim Police Department twice interrogated defendant about the robbery and a shooting that occurred earlier the

2 evening of the robbery.1 Over defendant‟s objection, the court ruled evidence of defendant‟s statements concerning the earlier shooting were admissible under Evidence Code2 section 1101, subdivision (b) to show knowledge and intent, and the probative value of the evidence was not outweighed by any prejudicial effect of the evidence.…