People v. Peters CA1/5

I. BACKGROUND1

Ervin Lopez was walking from a market towards his home at about noon on July 31, 2020. Appellant came out of a house

The facts are taken primarily from the hearing on

appellant's motion to suppress.

1 and asked Lopez for his cell phone and wallet. Lopez refused, and the two men struggled until appellant reached into Lopez's pocket and took his phone. Appellant fled to the same house from which he had emerged, dropping his wallet on the way. Lopez retrieved the wallet and attempted to catch up to appellant but was unable to do so. Lopez stayed in the area for about five hours, unable to call anyone because his cell phone had been taken. Eventually, a passer-by allowed Lopez to use his phone to call the police. Lopez went to a nearby community center where he met San Mateo Police Officer Ramirez, who took a description of the robbery suspect and inspected the wallet that the suspect had dropped. It contained an identification card for Curtis James Peters (appellant) bearing an address on North Claremont Street that was a few houses away from where the robbery was committed. Appellant matched the description of the suspect (age, gender, clothing, race…