People v. Lopez CA6

INTRODUCTION

A jury found defendant Joseph Lopez guilty of two counts of robbery (Pen. Code, §§ 211-212.5, subd. (c)1; counts 1 and 3) and dissuading a witness by force or threat (§ 136.1, subd. (c)(1), count 2), and found true the allegations that defendant had used a deadly or dangerous weapon (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)). Defendant was sentenced to 15 years 4 months in prison. On appeal, defendant argues that the trial court should have stayed the sentence on his conviction for witness dissuasion pursuant to section 654, because it was indivisible from his robbery offense. For the reasons stated below, we will affirm.

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Events Underlying Counts One and Two On January 10, 2012, defendant and two women entered a Mi Pueblo market at 9:45 p.m. The individuals grabbed several items and then walked “really fast” out the store without paying for the items. The cashier alerted the security guard, Bryan De la Torre, that the individuals left without paying. De la Torre followed the individuals out to their car. He asked one of the women for a receipt. She responded by…