asked for cigarettes and rolling paper and as Butler reached for the items, he told her to step back and follow his instructions. He had his hand inside a gun case that he pointed at her. He commanded her to open the cash register and his accomplice took out the money, about $86, and put it into a plastic handbag. The man then ordered Butler into the back room and told her to show him where the video surveillance equipment was located. She did, but the cabinet was locked and she did not have a key. The man ripped the wires out, but was unable to reach inside to the cassette. Trial Transcript ("Tr.") 205-19.
A customer then drove up and began pumping gas. That caused a "beep" whichwas heard in the store and the woman who took the money evidently mistook the sound, because she told her companion that Butler must have pulled an alarm. In any case, the woman said, they had been there long enough and she and the gunman fled. Butler then rang the silent alarm and shortly thereafter the police arrived. Tr. 220-22.
In earlier testimony, Police Officer Lou Buduson, the first to respond to the scene of the robbery, testified that he retrieved the videotape and that he had played it that night for Butler. Tr. 175-76. The prosecutor had been unaware of that viewing and had not included it in his pretrial notice. Tr. 195. The defense moved in limine to preclude Butler from identifying the defendant at trial on