People v. Jackson CA1/1

I. BACKGROUND

On a Sunday in 2023, Jackson entered the San Francisco office of Aurora Innovation (“Aurora”), a “self-driving truck company,” without permission. He testified that he pulled on the front door and felt that it had “some give,” then simply “yanked it” open and entered. He went upstairs and took water, snacks, and sanitizer wipes from a kitchenette. Then he “snooped around” and “looked in a couple of drawers.” He went to all five floors of the building and “didn’t see anybody around.” Jackson was in the building for about two and a half hours. Surveillance video showed him “going through desks, looking in common spaces, testing doors,” and at one point “attempt[ing] to use an access control badge to gain access to another secure space.” Eventually, he took a backpack from an employee’s desk, which he loaded with three employees’ laptops and some audio equipment. He left the backpack on the third floor, where officers later recovered it. Officers responded to a call regarding a possible burglary or trespass at Aurora’s office shortly after 5:00 o’clock that afternoon, but left when they could not gain entry to the building or contact anyone who could let them in. The…