The PEOPLE of the TERRITORY of GUAM, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Vincente R. CEPEDA, Defendant-Appellant

Vincente Cepeda appeals his convictions for two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of theft by receiving stolen property. He argues that the trial court erred in admitting certain hearsay, and that the government failed to prove elements necessary to one of the robbery convictions and the theft by receipt conviction. We have juris diction pursuant to 48 U.S.C. § 1424-3 (c). We conclude that Cepeda was charged with robbery using the wrong unit of prosecution, and reverse one of his robbery convictions. We affirm in all other respects.

I

Vincente Cepeda, a Guam prisoner, received permission to visit his ailing mother on August 1,1990. During the course of the visit, he escaped from custody. The next day, police discovered that a Toyota Corolla had been stolen. The Corolla was later recovered in the Guam Department of Corrections parking lot. Cepeda was seen driving the Corolla and leaving it in the DOC parking lot.

Two robberies occurred on August 14. Police subsequently arrested Cepeda and Carmelo Medióla. According to Medióla, he and Cepeda drove to a Maite convenience store. Cepeda indicated he was going to rob the store, took a pellet gun in, and returned with…