Rodriguez
United States v. Rodriguez
Opinion
Opinion
BACKGROUND
On May 8, 2021, South Pasadena police officers arrested Rodriguez for stealing mail from mailboxes in South Pasadena and La Cañada, California. Early that morning, officers stopped a Ford Escape in which Rodriguez was a passenger. Rodriguez told the officers that the driver was taking her to “get mail.” In her backpack, Rodriguez had mail belonging to various South Pasadena and La Cañada residents, and she explained to the officers that she had more mail in a white plastic bag in the car. In total, the backpack and bag contained 140 pieces of mail from 110 victims. This included 19 checks, three of which were blank; 33 pieces of open mail with full bank account numbers; a ledger with five handwritten social security numbers and 24 handwritten account numbers; a printout of names, account information, and passwords; nine credit and debit cards; and two California driver’s licenses. The government charged Rodriguez with three crimes: (1) possession of stolen mail under 18 U.S.C. § 1708; (2) possession of at least 15 unauthorized access devices under 18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(3); and (3) aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1). In October 2023,