People v. Rash CA3

BACKGROUND

In April 2021, in Butte County Superior Court case No. 21CF01565 (case No. 1565), defendant was charged with identity theft (§ 530.5, subd. (c)(3)), possession of methamphetamine (Health & Saf. Code § 11377, subd. (a)), and possession of drug paraphernalia (Health & Saf. Code § 11364, subd. (a)). Defendant was charged after he was found with the identification documents of over 22 people, which he used to file fraudulent claims with the Employment Development Department (EDD), resulting in payment of $202,758 in fraudulent benefits. Defendant was released on bail in May 2021. In January 2022, defendant was charged in a separate case, Butte County Superior Court case No. 22CF00247 (case No. 0247), for failure to appear while on bail (§ 1320.5) in case No. 1565 and an earlier case. Bail was reinstated in case No. 1565, and defendant was released on his own recognizance in case No. 0247. In December 2022, defendant pled no contest to identity theft in case No. 1565 and failure to appear in case No. 0247. Pursuant to a plea agreement resolving these and three other cases, the remaining counts and cases were dismissed with a Harvey2 waiver. As part of defendant’s plea,…