VAN NUYS, CA – A judge here last Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court denied a defense motion to reduce felony charges to misdemeanor shoplifting, holding the accused on second degree robbery charges.
During the hearing, Deputy District Attorney Niki Razipour called one witness to testify to the accused’s alleged theft of 4-5 bottles of wine at a Van Nuys 7-Eleven. The prosecution argued that the accused’s actions constituted felony robbery because of the use of a weapon.
In his testimony, the witness, who was an employee of the 7-Eleven which the accused allegedly robbed, described the incident, with the aid of a Bengali interpreter, and said he witnessed the accused grab 4-5 bottles of wine and then asked his colleague if they had seen the accused pay for them, to which they responded no…