Hamilton police and the Pennsylvania State Police teamed to catch Rodriguez using a “bait box” delivered to a vacant Hamilton residence after he made the solicitation, according to Hamilton Sgt. Richard Burkhardt.
MORE : Estranged husband: Wife in deadly crash planned to ‘drive backwards on I-75’
A 70-year-old woman told Pennsylvania State Police she was contacted by a man asking for money to release her daughter’s boyfriend from jail, according to court document. The woman was instructed to send $5,000 in cash through Federal Express to an address in the 1900 block of Pleasant Avenue in Hamilton.
When the woman contacted police in her state, the state police and Hamilton detectives worked together to create a sting operation to identify and apprehend the suspect picking up the “bait package.”
At about 10:30 a.m. on July 16, the bait package was delivered to the residence. Within minutes Rodriguez approached the front porch and grabbed the package, according to court documents.
Rodriguez was stopped in his 2002 Toyota Highlander and detained by Hamilton police. A search of the vehicle revealed multiple additional packages.
“They (police) located several opened packages that had been sent through Fed Ex and UPS. The senders of those packages have been identified as elderly victims of fraud from other states and have been scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars,” Hamilton Detective Jon Habig wrote in the application for a search warrant.
Two days later, police seafched Rodriguez’ High Street house and seized 15 items, including Chase Bank documents, Western Union documents, a tablet, router, Jory Express documents and a television.
MORE: UPDATE: 2 injured when Jeep flips, hits 6 vehicles in Butler County
Rodriguez waived his right to further extradition proceedings and will eventually be returned Pennsylvania for trial, but more charges here and in other states are possible.
“There’s a lot of agencies from all over the country involved,” Burkhardt said. “The investigation in continuing and could take a while to complete.”
MORE: Edgewood officials: No comment about sexual harassment lawsuit against custodian, district
About the Author
