Can a jury convict a defendant of robbery based on force or fear?

The jury convicted defendant of robbery, despite being instructed on their option to convict of grand theft from the person as a lesser included offense. The robbery instruction (CALJIC No. 9.40, as modified) presented a prosecution theory of force or fear after the initial taking of the property.¹ In argument, the prosecutor conceded insufficient force or fear at the time of the taking, urging the jury to find a robbery based on defendant's use of fear to prevent the victim from reclaiming her property. Defendant now argues he used no more force than necessary to take the victim's bag, and that the fear expressed by the victim was not created by the defendant to facilitate the robbery. Our task is to "review the whole record in the light most favorable to the judgment to determine whether it contains substantial evidence . . . from which a rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." (People v. Jennings (1991) 53 Cal.3d 334, 364.)