People v. Rodriguez CA3

FACTS

On November 14, 2011, a man in a baseball hat and sunglasses grabbed cash from a teller at Bank of the West in Sacramento; announced, “This is a robbery”; and as he walked away, stated, “If anybody does anything I‟ll shoot.” The robbery was captured on the bank‟s surveillance camera. Two of defendant‟s coworkers saw photographs of the suspect on the news and identified defendant as the suspect. Bank tellers also identified defendant with varying degrees of confidence. Defendant had gambled several times during the month of November at Thunder Valley Casino, including on the day of the robbery, and his bank account was overdrawn. The defense was mistaken identity. A jury convicted defendant of one count of second degree robbery. I Defendant asserts the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to dismiss his prior convictions pursuant to People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497 (Romero). Defendant argues that he had become a model citizen since his release from federal parole, he had tremendous support from his family, and his most recent transgression was due to a problem with gambling and not a return to his days as an immature and irresponsible young…