People v. Ryan CA3

Filed 1/7/16 P. v. Ryan CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (El Dorado) ----

THE PEOPLE, C077725

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. P14CRF0044)

v.

BROOK PETER RYAN,

Defendant and Appellant.

Following a jury trial, defendant Brook Peter Ryan was convicted of a single count of second degree robbery. (Pen. Code, § 211.)1 The trial court found true allegations that defendant had served two prior prison terms (§ 667.5, subd. (b)), and sentenced him to an aggregate term of five years in state prison. On appeal, defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction. Specifically, he contends the evidence was insufficient to negate the

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code in effect at the time of the charged offense.

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possibility that he had previously paid for the items found in his pockets at the time of his arrest. We conclude that substantial evidence supports the jury’s determination that defendant took property belonging to another. We affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On January 15, 2014, Matthew Seger was working at a Grocery Outlet in Placerville. Seger was setting up a Valentine’s display near the entrance to the store when he saw defendant walking briskly from the back of the store. As defendant walked by, Seger noticed a block of cheese sticking out of one of defendant’s pockets. Seger also noticed the outline of another bulky object in defendant’s other pocket. Seger approached defendant and asked to see what was in his pockets. Defendant walked past Seger and left the store. Defendant had bypassed the cash registers and made no attempt to pay for the cheese or any other groceries. Seger followed defendant out of the store and again asked to see what was in defendant’s pockets. Defendant responded, “[F]uck no.” Seger then told defendant he was going to call the police. As Seger attempted to call 911 on his cell phone, he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, defendant take a step back. Within that split second, Segar looked up just in time to attempt to avoid being struck in the face by defendant. Defendant’s blow, nevertheless, connected with Segar’s chin and knocked Segar back “a little bit.” Defendant then left the shopping center on foot, following an adjacent trail to a nearby wooded area. Police located defendant and arrested him shortly thereafter. Police searched defendant and found two blocks of cheese and a package of Canadian bacon in his pockets. Those items were taken back to the store and scanned at a cash register to determine their value. Defendant was charged by information with a single count of second degree robbery. The information further alleged that defendant had served two prior prison terms.