People v. Cazares CA5

INTRODUCTION

Appellant Apolinar Cazares was convicted of two counts of robbery arising from his theft of a bag of frozen shrimp from a Fresh & Easy grocery store. He appeals his robbery convictions on the grounds the evidence was insufficient to support the convictions; specifically, that the two store employee victims were not in constructive possession of the item stolen. We disagree and will affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY

On March 20, 2012, David Conley and Patrick King, Jr., were employed as team leaders at the Fresh & Easy grocery store located on Tulare and R Streets in Fresno. As team leaders, Conley and King were responsible for shift supervision, receiving inventory, and handling cash. The store did not have loss prevention officers on site; all employees were expected to watch for shoplifting. The morning of March 20, 2012, a man came into the store with a backpack in his shopping cart. The man, later identified as Cazares, put a bag of frozen shrimp into his backpack and then left the store without paying for the item. After being alerted of the theft by the front counter customer assistant, Conley and King went outside the store to see if they…