People v. Calloway CA2/8

FACTS

1. Prosecution Evidence Michael Heranic and Larry Zamora were loss prevention agents at an Albertsons grocery store in Long Beach. They were employees of Tier One Solutions (Tier One), a security company that contracted with Albertsons. Their job was to observe and apprehend shoplifters, and they wore plain clothes to blend in with customers. On September 30, 2014, Heranic observed appellant in aisle 14, a high-theft aisle. Among other things, aisle 14 contained Tide laundry detergent, one of the most stolen items in the store. Heranic initially estimated he was approximately six feet away from appellant, but then explained he was more like 14 feet away. He had a clear unobstructed view of appellant. He was using mirrors on his cart to observe appellant. Zamora was on the other side of appellant, about the same distance away. Appellant had an empty cart and an empty bag, similar to a “shoe bag” or “soccer bag,” in the child portion of the cart. Heranic and Zamora saw appellant select a bag of Tide pods from the shelf and place it in his empty shoe bag. Appellant went to aisle 16 and left the cart and bag, went back to aisle 14 and grabbed three more bags of Tide pods,…