People v. Francis CA1/4

I. BACKGROUND

On the afternoon of July 18, 2013, Robert Bednar’s house in Oakley was burglarized. Bednar determined that several items were missing, including his van, tools, a safe, his sports memorabilia, his daughter’s dance bag, multiple computers, and

1 Statutory citations are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.

1 miscellaneous items. A witness who lived next door to Bednar told the investigating sheriff’s deputies she saw two men in front of Bednar’s house at 2:00 p.m. on July 18, loading items into a white work van like Bednar’s. One had shoulder-length blond hair and appeared to be approximately 30 years old. The other was Hispanic, approximately 26 to 28 years old, with short black hair. Another neighbor’s video surveillance camera captured footage of a purple Nissan Pathfinder with chrome rims entering the court where Bednar lived at 1:41 p.m. and exiting about a minute later. Nine minutes later, Bednar’s van exited the court. The next day a sheriff’s deputy found a purple Nissan Pathfinder with chrome rims parked in the driveway of Francis’s house, within 150 yards of where Bednar’s van had been recovered the day before. After checking the address,…