In re M.B. CA1/4

I. BACKGROUND

On December 2, 2012, at about 2:00 p.m., Rachel Dias was in her Concord home. Dias was over 80 years old, had diabetes and heart problems, and had suffered a stroke a few years earlier. A “young lady” knocked at Dias’s door and asked if a named person lived there. Dias responded that the person did not live there; Dias may also have stated she lived alone.

3 Trial counsel for M.B. filed a premature notice of appeal on January 14, 2014, before the juvenile court entered its January 28, 2014 dispositional order. In February 2014, we entered an order stating we will construe M.B.’s notice of appeal to have been taken from the dispositional order. (See Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.406(d).) (All rule references are to the California Rules of Court.)

2 After the girl left, Dias was sitting at her kitchen table writing Christmas cards. When her dog growled, Dias noticed a young male standing behind her chair. Dias screamed. The young male told Dias he was not going to hurt her, but wanted her money. Dias stood up and retreated toward her refrigerator. She was hyperventilating and feared she was going to have a heart attack. The young male then left through Dias’s back…