People v. Lemons CA2/8

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The threats at issue occurred on the evening of November 21, 2012—the night before Thanksgiving—in a Whole Foods grocery store in Pasadena, California. Julie Guerrero was working as a cashier that evening and recognized appellant as a regular customer. Appellant approached Guerrero’s checkout counter and placed his groceries on the conveyer belt. Although Guerrero asked appellant how his day had been and whether he needed a bag, appellant did not respond, although he usually did not speak to her. On the night at issue, he had his head down and appeared to be whispering to himself. Although customers usually push their carts in front of them so their bags can be placed in the cart, appellant had his cart behind him in line. The victim, Dustin Johnson, was shopping with his mother and got in line behind appellant with both his and appellant’s shopping carts between them. He had never met or seen appellant previously. After Guerrero rang up appellant’s groceries and put them in a bag, she told him the total amount of his purchase. He took out his wallet and removed some cash, but then appeared to be looking for an ATM (automated teller machine) or credit card to…