People v. Nicholson CA2/1

BACKGROUND

Los Angeles Police Officer Eli Huacuja noticed graffiti on the side of a store called Inner City Market during his patrol on June 6, 2019 that was not there when he patrolled the area on June 1, 2019. Based on what he saw, Huacuja asked the store owner for access to footage from the security camera that was pointed at the graffitied wall. Based on his review of the footage, Huacuja determined that the graffiti was painted on the morning

Further statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 of June 3, 2019. In the video, Huacuja saw an individual he described as “a tall individual. He’s holding up his pants like they’re falling. He has distinct hair. In this case he has dreadlocks type of hair.” Huacuja also noticed tattoos on the individual’s forearms and that the person had, “like a mustache, goatee type of mustache.” As the video progresses, the individual Huacuja described “runs up to the wall [at the Inner City Market] and begins spray painting the white wall.” Based on “approximately 20 . . . consensual encounters” with Nicholson over three years, during which Huacuja observed Nicholson’s face, physical features and tattoos, observed his mannerisms—“he…