People v. Ladelle CA4/1

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Since Ladelle does not challenge the admissibility or sufficiency of the evidence

supporting his conviction we will include a brief summary of the facts to provide context

for the discussion which follows.

Amada Lopez and her husband Ernesto Cervantes owned a barbershop and salon

("the shop") located in Muscoy, an unincorporated area of San Bernardino County. In the

early morning of Mother's Day 2003, the couple set up a gift stand on the corner of State

Street and Highland Avenue to sell flowers and gift baskets. Several family members

helped set up and sell gifts that day, including Amada's sister, Maria Lopez, and children

2 William Valenzuela, David Gomez, and Amadita Gomez. The family began selling gifts

at approximately 6:00 a.m. that day and stopped when it was dark outside, sometime

between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

During that day, Maria noticed a suspicious vehicle pull up to the curb on three

different occasions. Each time, the passengers, two African-American males, asked for

the price of several items. The car and its occupants then left without purchasing

anything. Maria described the vehicle as a white Ford Thunderbird, and…