P. v. Carter
After a jury found defendant Jimmie L. Carter guilty of robbery (§ 211),[1] with the finding that a principal was armed with a firearm (§ 12022, subd. (a)(1)), a bench trial was conducted on allegations regarding a prior conviction. The trial court found that defendant had been convicted in 1998 of robbery, denied his oral Romero[2] motion, and sentenced him to a 17-year state prison term. We affirm.
The evidence at trial established that defendant and Wayne Jones committed a robbery at Camacho Auto Sales in Lancaster on May 7, 2011.[3] That day, defendant, who had recently purchased a car from the business, came to the establishment to make a payment on his car. After he left, Jones entered, and pointing a gun at the receptionist, took between $800 and $1,000. As the robbery took place, defendant circled the area in his car several times. After taking the money, Jones exited and entered the passenger side of defendant’s car which drove off. All of these events were videotaped.
Several days later, law enforcement arrested defendant and Jones in defendant’s car. The car was eventually taken to one of Camacho’s lots. Subsequently, two Camacho Auto Sales employees (a licensed recovery agent and a repossession agent) searched the car and found, hidden in the back of the passenger seat, the gun Jones had used in the robbery.
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