People v. Sapp CA3

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

Defendant was accused of stealing the victim’s bank and credit cards, then attempting to use one or more of them at a nearby market. The market’s surveillance system recorded defendant on videotape, but the police failed to obtain the videotape and it was not preserved for trial. The only evidence offered from the videotape was a screen shot taken by an officer’s cell phone. Around 11:30 a.m. on November 18, 2010, Janet M., using a walker, walked from her Oak Park apartment to the Sacramento Food Bank. She hung a pouch on the walker that held her identification card, her credit union Visa card, her Social Security card, her Target card, and other personal property. After getting groceries at the Food Bank, Janet M. started home. As she walked down 33rd Street between Broadway and Second Avenue, a man came up behind her, knocked her down, and took the bag of groceries from her walker. Finding only groceries in the bag, he returned and grabbed her pouch, then ran off. She saw that he was “well built,” had short hair and facial hair resembling a goatee, and wore dark jeans and a dark t-shirt. After Janet M. got home, she asked her apartment manager to call the…