People v. Mercado CA6

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant committed a string of convenience store robberies in September and October 2017. On a Saturday night in September, he and a man named Anthony Garcia, both carrying guns, entered a 7-Eleven store in San Jose around 2:00 a.m. and ordered the clerk to open the cash register. They fled with over $300. An hour and a half later they robbed another 7-Eleven store in essentially the same way, taking another $400 to $500. The following month, defendant and a man named Derek Cornell robbed two more 7- Eleven stores at gunpoint. Then they robbed a liquor store. All five robberies were captured on video by security cameras. Earlier in October, defendant and Cornell were in an altercation with two men in a liquor store parking lot. Defendant drew a gun and pointed it at the men, chasing after them as they ran away. That part of the confrontation was recorded by a security camera. Out of frame, two shots were fired and the bullets shattered the window of a nearby hair salon, striking an interior wall next to where one of the hairstylists was standing. Police identified defendant as one of the robbers by comparing images from the security camera footage with photos…