People v. Munoz CA4/2

I. BACKGROUND

Munoz was charged with robbing a CVS store in Lake Elsinore, California, on the

evening of November 11, 2018. An employee observed the robber enter the store, pick

up a soda, and begin “wandering” around. The robber also got a lottery ticket from a

machine in the store. After some time, the robber approached the register at the front of

the store, took a sip from the soda, and had the employee verify if the lottery ticket was a

winner (it was not). The robber then lifted his shirt, and the employee “saw a gun tucked

into his pants.” The robber told the employee that he had a gun, encouraged the

employee to remain calm, and implied that the employee hand over the money from the

register by saying “You know what to do.” The robber directed the employee to empty a

second register, but that register had no money in it. The robber then directed the

employee to lie down at the back of the store, and then left with about $250.

Surveillance video of the robbery was played for the jury, though the video quality

was poor. Two eyewitnesses (the employee who spoke with the robber, and another who

returned from a break during the robbery) were unable to pick out…