People v. Mack CA1/3

BACKGROUND

The prosecution charged Mack and two codefendants — John James Forrester and Pedro Sanchez, Jr. — with armed robbery (Pen. Code, §§ 211, 12022, subd. (a)(1), count 1; undesignated statutory references are to this code); possession of a firearm by a felon (§ 29800, subd. (a)(1), count 3); and unlawful possession of ammunition (§ 30305, subd. (a)(1), count 4). At trial, the parties presented the following evidence:

1 In September 2019, Seth R. owned property on Salmon Creek Road (the road) in Humboldt County, near U.S. Highway 101. On the property were two houses and a greenhouse. Seth’s adult children, including his daughter, Taylor R., lived in one house; his aunt, Annette M., lived in the other. The greenhouse contained approximately 100 mature marijuana plants. At 5:30 a.m. on September 1, Seth’s friend told him there was a black car, and two men, near the property. Seth drove to the property to check on his family. He looked around — including inside the greenhouse — but nothing seemed amiss. So he decided to return home. Before he left, Seth told Taylor to be on the lookout for people “lurking around.” About 45 minutes later, a motion sensor alerted Taylor to…