People v. Castillo-Lopez CA4/1

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On the afternoon of July 2, 2019, after finishing her shift at work in an industrial area of San Jose, M.M. walked with her sister to her sister’s car, which was parked near the entrance to their workplace. M.M. carried a purse and a lunch box, which she planned to place inside the car. As M.M. opened the passenger-side door in preparation for placing the items inside, Castillo-Lopez approached M.M. on the sidewalk, physically separated from her by a three-foot wide dirt strip. While noting that Castillo-Lopez appeared to be one of the homeless people populating the area around her workplace,

3 M.M. nodded to Castillo-Lopez in a cordial manner. Castillo-Lopez held something in his hands, but, at that point, M.M. could not tell what it was. It was later revealed that the item was a two or three-foot long machete, which was wrapped in a dirty white cloth. Castillo-Lopez responded to M.M’s nodded greeting by raising his eyebrows and making head nudges while looking at her purse, which she held in her hand. Castillo-Lopez mumbled, “Give me. Give me it.” M.M. perceived that Castillo-Lopez wanted her purse, and she reacted by saying “No.”…