People v. Williams CA2/2

BACKGROUND

I. Facts

“On April 4, 2013, Shinobu Saito (Shinobu) and Yoko Saito (collectively Saitos) were living in a house in San Pedro. At 10:30 a.m., they locked the house and left for a doctor’s appointment. Upon their return, they discovered that the bedroom window in back of their home was broken and ‘everything was scattered all over the floor and the bed.’ The following items had been taken: ‘a lot of wrist watches,’ a necklace, bracelets, coins, 60 one-hundred dollar bills ($6,000), and a flashlight with Shinobu’s nickname, ‘Doc’, etched on it.” (People v. Williams (Feb. 27, 2017, B257027) [nonpub. opn.]

All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. Effective June 30, 2022, section 1171.1 was renumbered section 1172.75, with no substantive changes. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 12; People v. Burgess (2022) 86 Cal.App.5th 375, 378, fn. 2.) For simplicity, we refer to the section by its new numbering.

2 (Williams).) The ensuing investigation uncovered evidence linking defendant to the crime. (Ibid.)

II. Procedural History

A. Conviction and sentencing In 2014, a jury found defendant guilty of receiving stolen property (§ 496,…