In re Niko P. CA4/3

FACTS

On August 5, 2011, Enrique Pallares and his uncle, Cesar Mora, were playing golf on a course in San Juan Capistrano. Pallares noticed Niko P. (Niko), who was with another male (Dalton D.) and a female. Mora saw them arrive from a nearby neighborhood. Niko and his companions were loud and smoking cigarettes near Pallares’s golf cart. They were also drunk. Pallares’s black iPhone 4G was in the passenger-side cup holder in the golf cart. Pallares was on the green, about 15 to 20 yards away. While Pallares was lining up a putt, Mora saw Niko reach into the cart and take the phone from the cup holder. Mora yelled at Niko to leave the phone. Niko did not drop the phone, but instead he sprinted in the opposite direction from where he had entered the green. As Pallares finished his putt, he heard Mora yell and saw Mora pursue Niko across the green. He followed, and saw his phone in Niko’s hand. Mora chased Niko for approximately 40 yards before returning to the golf cart to secure the rest of their property. Pallares followed Niko for about 300 yards, then lost sight of him as he ran into a residential neighborhood. For 8 to 10 minutes, he spoke to several people in the…