People v. Carroll CA2/2

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In May 2013, defendant was in the midst of moving out of her apartment. Unhappy with her security deposit refund, defendant went to the apartment’s local leasing office. While there, she screamed at leasing office employee Carla Argueta (Argueta) and, as she was leaving, stated, “Bitch, I have something for you. It may hurt or it may tickle.” A few days later, another leasing office employee, Cynthia Jones Foster (Foster) received a call, and recognized the caller’s voice as defendant’s. The voice said, “Are you ready to die with that fuckin’ bitch Carla?” After Foster asked, “Excuse me, who is this?” the caller repeated, “Are you ready to die?” and hung up. Foster later told Argueta that defendant had called and said, “Bitch, I’m going to kill both of you.” The People charged defendant with three counts of criminal threats (§ 422, subd. (a)) for: (1) the in-person threat to Argueta; (2) the over-the-phone threat to Argueta; and (3) the over-the-phone threat to Foster. The People also alleged defendant’s 1994 attempted robbery conviction as a prior “strike” under the Three Strikes Law (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(j), 1170.12, subd. (b)), and as a prior…