People v. Vo CA2/6

FACTS

Victim Hong V. was heading from Westminster to St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, where she worked. She and appellant, whom she did not know, were waiting at a bus stop. Appellant asked her in Vietnamese for a dollar. She did not want him to know that she understood the language, so she ignored him. They both boarded a bus. Appellant sat very close to the victim in a row in front of her. Appellant made her feel uneasy. In her view, he was "not a good person" because "he was young and he asked for money as a beggar." Appellant "talk[ed] a lot" to the victim, asking her questions such as her name and where she was living, but she did not respond. The victim exited the bus at the Veterans Administration Hospital so that she could study at the library at California State University Long Beach (CSULB) before work. Appellant followed her off the bus. While the victim was waiting for a connecting bus, appellant stood directly behind her. She told him not to follow her or she would call the police. Appellant did not leave. When the connecting bus arrived, the victim boarded it and appellant followed, sitting three or four feet away from her, which made her feel scared. He…