People v. Colbert CA2/8

FACTS

On April 16, 2010, Angela Anthony was employed as a desk clerk at the Pershing Hotel, located at 502 South Main Street in Los Angeles. The Pershing Hotel is a residential hotel with 69 rooms. Both defendant and Mr. Phillip resided there. They were neighbors, with rooms next door to each other.

2 The hotel has a number of security measures in place. It has two exterior entryways; the main entrance is located at 502 South Main Street and the other is located at 511 5th Street. These entrances are kept locked, and residents are given keys. The hotel has 11 surveillance cameras. Ms. Anthony was familiar with how the cameras work. One of her duties was to review the surveillance footage on a daily basis. Every day she worked, she reviewed the footage taken between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (during which time there is no desk clerk on duty) to determine whether any guests or people who did not live at the hotel had come in. Residents are permitted to have guests only three nights a week. If guests are staying overnight, they are supposed to be signed in on an “overnight sheet.” The front desk also is not staffed between the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. When Ms. Anthony started…