By: Catherine McKnight
On the morning of Wednesday, April 10, the trial of People v. White began under Honorable Stephen L. Mock in Department 3.
Andrew Lawrence White is being charged on two counts of second-degree robbery with a firearm, and two additional enhancements for discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury. The court heard opening statements by DDA Robin Johnson and private defense attorney James Granucci.
Ms. Johnson began by informing the jurors they will hear testimony about a number of robberies that happened back in 2008. On August 18, 2008 Susan and Abdul Fattah were working before closing their convenience store when two men entered the store. They were both wearing dark clothing, and had a shotgun. The defendant told Mr. Fattah to get down on the ground. The two men proceeded to take the money when Mr. Fattah got up and was shot in the wrist by the defendant.
She states that, based on the clothing, style of the robbery, and the gun that was used, the jury will determine that this defendant was in fact the person who robbed and shot Mrs. Fattah’s husband. After the jury watches the videos, Mr. White will be held accountable for the robbery in August of 2008.
In Mr. Granucci’s opening he began by saying his client, Mr. White, is now 28 which would have made him 23 back in 2008. On July 1, 2008 the defendant’s aunt passed away unexpectedly and tragically. He says this is relevant because on August 18, 2008 there was a memorial service in Stockton for his aunt.
People came from all over the state to come celebrate her life. The memorial service ran from 12-2 p.m. and on the morning of August 18, Mr. White went to work at Blue Beacon Truck Wash. He left around 1 p.m., trying to make the service on time. He was late, and he and his family went to a park around 5 p.m. Mr. White took off on his motorcycle that night where he drove to his mother’s and spent the night there on August 18.
Mr. Granucci’s main point: Mr. White was nowhere near Sacramento on the night of the robbery and “evidence shows he’s been arrested and charged for something he didn’t commit and that’s scary.”
Ms. Johnson brought in Onkar Singh as her first witness. A Punjabi interpreter was needed for the first two witnesses. On direct, Mr. Singh said he was working at a gas station in September of 2008 with his boss. He said that he was working when two individuals came into the store around closing. He said he cannot describe their faces because they were covered and was only able to see their eyes. He believed he saw blue clothes and a “big gun” in one of their hands.
When one of the suspects came around the corner and told him to open the cash register, he complied. When he was questioned by police that night and shown photos, he told them he had not seen their faces but that they had on the same clothes as the men that came into the store.
The next witness seen was Mr. Othohi, with the Punjabi interpreter. He was working alone at Circle D in West Sacramento when suspects came into the store and pointed a gun at him. He called his boss who then contacted law enforcement. Ms. Johnson showed him People’s 126 for identification, that has a time stamp the witness seemed to disagree with. He was confused and insisted that he did not remember the date.
On cross-examination Mr. Granucci asked him if he spoke with law enforcement in English. He admitted that he can speak and understand a little bit of English and that is how he communicated. He had also told a police officer that there was a person there with a gun who was about 5 foot 8 inches tall and weighed about 160 pounds.
After a fifteen-minute recess, Robin Johnson brought in Shansher Sandhu to the witness stand. He was working at the American Food Store in August of 2008. He was there most of the time with Mr. Singh. He said he believes the person with the gun was wearing a black hoodie. When the police arrived, he gave them a copy of the surveillance video.
On September 8 of 2008 he was working again with Mr. Singh and said he believes it was the same two individuals because of the clothes they were wearing. Mr. Sandhu said he recognized it was the same person with the gun because of his mannerisms, weight and voice.
On cross-examination, he was asked how he knew for certain it was the same person. He replied, saying that he could see the color of his skin because his eyes were not covered and the skin around his eyes was visible.
After the lunch break, the court heard from Mrs. Susan Fattah. On the night of August 18, 2008, she was working with her husband and a couple of other employees. She said that she heard a gunshot and all that she really knows is that her husband was behind the counter at the time. When she stood up, she saw blood everywhere and hit an alarm in the store to signal the police. She said that her husband went to the hospital continuously for about three months to seek care for his injuries sustained by the gunshot.
Mrs. Fattah admitted she did not actually see them enter the store and does not remember much from that night because she was so scared for her husband’s safety and her own life. Ms. Johnson showed a video of another employee, Yelena, helping her husband dress his wound.
On cross, Mr. Granucci asked if she ever saw the suspect’s face, and she said she hadn’t but that the person with the gun was tall.
The last witness of the day was Yelena Karekin, who was working at the store with Mr. and Mrs. Fattah in 2008 the night of the robbery. She went into the walk-in cooler and looked through the glass doors to see two individuals dressed in black. She then witnessed a long gun pointed at Sue Fattah’s head. Ms. Karekin demonstrated to Ms. Johnson about how long the gun was, coming to the conclusion of about 15-18 inches.
She said that Mr. Fattah was on the phone at the time the robbery was taking place and she decided to stay in the cooler, which was about 29.8 feet away from where Mrs. Fattah was standing. From what she saw, Mr. Fattah was trying to protect the second cash register and that is when she heard the gunshot.
The witness was excused and the jury trial resumed Friday, April 12, and is presumed to continue through most of this week. We will continue to hear testimony from law enforcement and Mr. Granucci’s witnesses, who presumably will say Mr. White was not in the Sacramento area the night of August 18, 2008.
