People v. Fazel CA3

FACTS

Rabia and Mohammad Samimi were married in Afghanistan in 1973 when she was 14 years old and he was 29. They and their three children immigrated to California

1 in 1981 and settled first in Hayward and then in Newark. They opened a pizza restaurant called Super Pizza. Their oldest son was killed in a car accident in 1993. The Samimis became acquainted with defendant and his family in late 1993 or early 1994, and the two families became friends. Defendant worked as a videographer, making videos of weddings and special occasions. Unknown by Rabia, defendant had taken many pictures of her. He showed them to her and told her he was obsessed with her. He began calling her, and told her if she would not see him, he would “take” her remaining son. Rabia believed he was capable of doing something to her son. The two began a sexual affair. Defendant continued to threaten Rabia. In 1996, defendant and Mohammad had committed insurance fraud. They intentionally vandalized the Samimi’s Super Pizza restaurant, and they recovered $43,000 in insurance proceeds. Rabia was aware of the fraud, and she lied to the insurance agent to protect her family.1 Defendant threatened to expose the fraud…