People v. Nunez CA4/3

FACTS

Anthony was charged with committing grand theft against Joseph Lopez. After pleading guilty to the charge, he was placed on probation and ordered to serve 120 days in jail. The court then held a hearing on the issue of restitution. At the hearing, Lopez testified he lived with the Nunez brothers from about December 2008 to March 2009. During that time, he not only paid the Nunez brothers rent, he also loaned them an extra $10 or $20 from time to time because they threatened to “kick [his] ass.” Lopez asked them to repay the money, but they refused. After Lopez moved out, the Nunez brothers came to his residence four or five different times and asked him for money. On each occasion, they accompanied him to the post office to pick up his monthly pension check of $985. Then they made him cash the check and give them all the money. Lopez testified that he felt threatened by the Nunez brothers and that “they” forced him to give them the cash. In fact, one time in August or September 2009, he and Phillip had a brief physical confrontation over one of his pension checks. Following that incident, Lopez called the police and reported the thefts. Based on this evidence, the trial…