People v. Bowles CA4/3

FACTS

In February 2007, there was a spate of residential burglaries in and around Fullerton. Sometimes the perpetrator strong-armed the victims into surrendering their valuables, and other times he struck when they were not home. The investigation led to appellant, and following his arrest on February 25, 2007, the police found much of the stolen property in his motel room. When questioned, appellant admitted being a burglar and a drug addict. He said he robbed from the rich to give to the poor but ended up keeping many of the items he stole – such as a Lexus GS430 automobile – simply because he liked them. He was charged and remained in custody until posting bond in August 2008. When he failed to appear for his preliminary hearing on September 16, 2008, a warrant was issued for his arrest. Appellant had spent the previous evening, September 15, with his friend Thomas Cho. They were owed money from a drug dealer named Mark Chavez, so they enlisted Lori Odle, one of Chavez’s regular customers, to help them out. They had Odle tell Chavez she was interested in buying a large amount of methamphetamine from him.

2 That was enough to convince Chavez to come over to Odle’s home on the…