Achay

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Achay was a 10th grader at Edison High School. Achay’s last class ended at 2:30 p.m. Achay would then go to the girls’ locker room where she changed for track practice, which normally started at 3:00 p.m. and ended at 5:30 p.m. There were about a hundred students who participated in the track and field team. After practice, Achay was usually picked up in the school’s parking lot by the mother of her close friend, L. Sotelo. On Friday, March 29, 2018, the team had a lighter “recovery day” due to a prior track meet, so track practice ended early, at about 4:30 p.m. Achay and Sotelo walked to a nearby Starbucks, which was about 15 minutes away. Achay and Sotelo were at the Starbucks for about 15 minutes, then they left at about 5:00 p.m. Prior to being picked up by Sotelo’s mother, Achay needed to get her books from the girls’ locker room, which was regularly locked by the school janitor at around 6:00 p.m. While Achay and Sotelo were walking back to campus, they encountered a stranger on the street, later identified as Meer, who was on rollerblades. Achay found Meer to be suspicious because of his dark clothing, and because he made eye contact with…