People v. Munoz CA6

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

December 2010 Burglary

In the late morning on December 23, 2010, defendant—who was then 18 years old—and an unidentified juvenile entered a home in Monte Sereno. The homeowner was out of town, but the tenant who lived in the downstairs apartment was home. The tenant heard a “heavy thumping noise,” went up the stairs—just enough to peek inside his landlord’s home—and saw two young males wearing hoodies walking through the living room. Initially, the tenant thought they were workers hired by the homeowner, but since the situation seemed odd, he decided to investigate. The tenant looked for, and did not see, a contractor’s truck. He noticed that a side door to the garage had been forcibly opened and saw a pile of personal property on the garage floor. The tenant called the police. He then saw one of the burglars and “bolted at him,” yelling, “Robber, robber!” The burglar ran off through the front yard. The tenant then encountered the other burglar, who ran off through a creek in the back yard. Police officers stopped defendant and the unidentified juvenile less than half a mile from the burglarized home. The teens, who had gotten rid of their hoodies…