People v. Mendoza CA4/2

STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. Prosecution Evidence.

1. Background.

As of 2018, victim Larry Valverde was 65 years old. He was “short and

somewhat frail.” He suffered from diabetes and kidney failure; he was on dialysis. He

lived on Sunnymead Boulevard in Moreno Valley.

Defendant lived two doors away, with his mother. His children lived with his

ex-girlfriend, a couple of miles away. Defendant and Valverde had been friends and

neighbors for five or six years.

Valverde’s adult daughter Aryn lived across the street from Valverde. She would

check on him “sporadically throughout the day[.]” She was in a relationship with

defendant’s brother.

On May 16, 2018, defendant moved in with Valverde.

3 2. May 18-19: The Night of the Crime.

On May 18, around 9:00 or 10:00 p.m., Aryn was at Valverde’s house briefly to

borrow his TV remote control. Defendant and Valverde were there, along with one

Tanya Gil.

Surveillance video showed that at 11:37 p.m., the side door of Valverde’s house

opened. At 11:38 p.m., an interior light went on. At 11:49 p.m., the side door closed. At

11:51 p.m., it opened again. At 12:02 a.m., the front door opened; two “silhouettes”

came out. At…