P. v. Slayton
On October 12, 2004, defendant was charged in a felony complaint with two counts of robbery (Pen. Code, 211, counts 1 & 2)[1]and felon in possession of a handgun ( 12021, subd. (a)(1), count 3). As to counts 1 and 2, it was alleged defendant personally used a firearm to commit the offenses. ( 12022.53, subd. (b), 1192.7, subd. (c)(8).) It was further alleged defendant served three prior prison terms ( 667.5, subd. (b)), and had a prior serious felony ( 667, subd. (a)), which also qualified as a strike offense ( 667, subds. (c) & (e)(1), 1170.12, subd. (c)(1)).
The two victims in this case, Robert Messer (Messer) and Jonathan Wright (Wright), both testified at trial, and their accounts of the robbery were similar. They said they were selling stereo equipment on a consignment basis from a van owned by their employer. They would use the van to pick up stereo equipment from a warehouse in the morning, drive to a busy parking lot of a retail shopping center, and ask people if they would be interested in buying the equipment. On the afternoon of March 5, 2004, around 1:00 p.m., Messer and Wright were attempting to sell equipment in the parking lot of a Best Buy store. They both identified defendant as one of a group of three Black men who arrived in the parking lot in a Cadillac truck. According to Messer, two of the men in this group went inside the store, and defendant stayed outside to talk about the stereo equipment. Messer sat in the van while Wright was showing the equipment and trying to do the deal.
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