People v. Swint CA4/3

FACTS

Appellant and codefendant David Alvares went to the men’s department of the Sears store in Buena Park. After Alvares stacked up an assortment of pants and shirts, appellant left the store and entered a car in the parking lot. Then Alvares left the store too, without the clothing. He spoke to appellant in the parking lot and then went back inside the store and retrieved the stack of clothes he had previously assembled. Items in hand, he then left the store through an emergency exit, triggering the alarm. When a security officer confronted him outside, Alvares pointed a flare gun at him and made popping sounds with his mouth. He then ran to appellant’s car, threw the clothes inside and got in. Appellant drove away, but the police arrested him the following day. At first he denied any involvement in the robbery, but after the police told him they had surveillance footage of him at the store, he admitted being Alvares’ getaway driver. He claimed it was Alvares’ idea to steal the clothes, and he did not really want to go along with it. At trial, appellant reiterated his claim that he was a reluctant participant in the theft. In fact, he testified he tried to prevent it by slowly…