Opinion ID: 1204963
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Defendant's activities at the beach, June 19-20, 1979

Text: Fifteen-year-old Toni Esparza and fourteen-year-old Joanne Murchland spent much of June 19, 1979, on the beach near the Huntington Beach pier. A man they identified at trial as defendant approached the girls in a nearby parking lot, inquiring whether he could take their photographs. He told them he was entered in a bikini of the month photography contest. Both girls were wearing bikinis. The girls agreed, and defendant appeared to take five to ten photographs. Defendant said he had some joints, and asked the girls whether they would like to go for a ride to get loaded as payment for posing for him. When the girls declined defendant's offer, he requested their telephone numbers in case he won the contest. The girls refused to give defendant their phone numbers and quickly walked away. Teenagers Lorraine Werts and Patty Elmendorf went rollerskating at Sunset Beach, a few miles north of Huntington Beach, on the following day, June 20. A man asked them to stop so that he could take some photographs for a class contest. Patty refused. Lorraine, clad in a new bikini, allowed him to photograph her. Patty subsequently identified the man as defendant. Richard Sillett, a City of Huntington Beach survey-party chief, told police officers that in the early to midafternoon of June 20, while he was on the beach below the cliffs, studying the alignment of a bicycle trail, he observed a man walking down the incline toward the ocean. Sillett, an amateur photographer who owned several cameras, habitually noticed the cameras used by others, and observed that the man carried a 35-millimeter camera with a telephoto lens. The two briefly made eye contact. Sillett later informed the authorities that the composite sketch closely resembled the man with the camera and, both at a photo lineup and at trial, identified defendant as the man he had observed at the beach. Robin Samsoe and Bridget Wilvert arrived at Bridget's residence approximately 3:10 p.m., after posing for three photographs on the cliffs above the beach. Robin was anxious to reach the dance studio on time and was excited because she would be advancing to toe shoes that day. Bridget allowed Robin to borrow her bicycle, a yellow Schwinn 10-speed boy's bike with the handlebars turned up. Robin was expected at Beverly Fleming's dance studio by 4 p.m. to answer the telephones; Robin's ballet class at the studio began one hour later. Robin never arrived at the studio. Approximately 5:15 p.m., Fleming telephoned Robin's home in an unsuccessful effort to locate her.