People v. Santiago CA4/1

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In February 2024, a man listed for sale on OfferUp an automotive tool known as a “key programmer,” which is used to reprogram the chips in electronic automobile keys. Using an OfferUp account under the name “Marc,” Santiago responded to the offer and arranged to come to the man’s house on the night of February 15, 2024, to purchase the item. While outside the man’s house, Santiago, pointed a gun at the man and took the item from him without paying for it. The man photographed Santiago’s license plate as he was driving away in a silver minivan. Law enforcement used information obtained from OfferUp to identify Santiago as a suspect, and the victim of the robbery subsequently identified Santiago in a photographic lineup and later in court. Shortly after the robbery, the silver minivan was located in a nearby shopping center parking lot. The minivan’s ignition lock cylinder had been

2 damaged, and Santiago’s DNA was on the minivan’s steering wheel. On the night of the robbery, the owner of the minivan had parked it overnight in the same shopping center parking lot where it was returned after the robbery. On February 24, 2024, police officers…