People v. Lanier CA2/8

INTRODUCTION

A jury found Stanford Lanier guilty of second degree commercial burglary, in violation of Penal Code section 459. On appeal, Lanier contends: (1) the trial court prejudicially erred when it failed to grant a continuance to locate a witness whom he expected to testify on his behalf; and (2) the trial court prejudicially erred when it excluded a defense investigator’s testimony regarding the witness’s out-of-court statements. We affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On July 18, 2013 Lanier and Rosalyn Jones were arrested at a Walmart retail store in Lancaster. That night, Lanier and Jones entered the store and approached the cash register with a shopping cart “full of items or merchandise.” During the check-out, Jones and Lanier used a divider to split the items into two separate transactions. The first transaction consisted of various food items, which Jones paid for using an EBT card. Lanier then placed the purchased items into their cart. During the second transaction, Jones placed beer and a “blender or mixer” on the counter. She told the cashier that she wished to return the mixer and indicated that she intended to use the refund to pay for the rest of her…