People v. Agustin CA6

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Defendant worked at a Wal-Mart store on North Main Street in Salinas. On August 14, 2012, that store was robbed at gunpoint while defendant and another employee were emptying the cash registers for the night. The North Main Street Wal-Mart was robbed again while defendant was working on September 27, 2012. Defendant radioed the employee working in the cash office and gave the code indicating an armored car had arrived. The employee opened the door to the cash office and led a man dressed in an armored car company uniform into the cash office. Inside the office, the man pointed a gun at the employee, zip tied the employee’s hands, emptied the safe and cash drawers, and left. Defendant told officers he had called 911. He then consented to a search of his cell phone. On defendant’s cell phone, officers found a text message from “Junior” saying “I wanted to show you the uniform.” The subscriber associated with the phone number belonging to “Junior” was Rachel Chacon Ruiz. One of Ruiz’s relatives, Richard Chacon Jr., closely resembled the suspect as he appeared in Wal-Mart surveillance videos from the two robberies. Further investigation…