Shea

Defendant William Carl Shea challenges his conviction for intentionally causing damage to a “protected computer” without authorization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (a)(5)(A)®. Shea argues that the government presented insufficient evidence to convict, and, more specifically, presented no evidence that he committed a criminal act on the date alleged in the indictment. He also argues that the district court improperly denied his request for substitute counsel. We disagree with each of Shea’s contentions and, therefore, affirm the conviction.

I. Background

The defendant was an employee at Bay Area Credit Services (BACS) from August 6, 2001, until January 17, 2003. BACS provides debt collection services, and Shea managed the company’s database operating system, which was designed by a company called Columbia Ultimate. In December 2002, Shea asked for permission to work from home because his daughter had been diagnosed with diabetes, but his request was denied because, as BACS CEO Michael Priest testified, Shea had been unproductive and difficult to reach during his previous stints working at home.

On January 6, 2003, company executives met with Shea and gave him a “performance…