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Sarah Boone— Case Archive
personpersonKayla RodriguezKayla RodriguezKayla Rodriguez is a deputy sheriff with the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Her duties include responding to service calls and emergencies.← All People
Law enforcementOrange County Sheriff's Office

Kayla Rodriguez

Courtroom still of Kayla Rodriguez.

Kayla Rodriguez is a deputy sheriff with the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Her duties include responding to service calls and emergencies.

Appeared2024 Criminal Trial
43 lines·11 proceedings·10 mentions

About

Deputy Kayla Rodriguez testified for the prosecution on Day 5 about responding on February 24, 2020, after dispatch reported a woman performing CPR on a boyfriend who had been in a suitcase. During direct examination by Dave Cacciatore, Jr., she explained her body camera's silent one-minute buffer and battery limitations. She authenticated three recordings, which the court admitted without objection as State's 4, 5, and 6 and which were played for the jury.

The recordings presented Boone's account of drinking wine, playing hide-and-seek, zipping Jorge Torres inside the suitcase, falling asleep, and later removing him and attempting CPR. They also presented her statements that the incident was not intentional and that she feared Torres's family. These were Boone's recorded statements, not Rodriguez's independent confirmation of the events. The court reporter expressly identified the playback transcriptions as non-verbatim.

Rodriguez said all her interactions with Boone that day were captured. The defense declined cross-examination, and she was released without recall.

Trial Record (11)

2024 Trial2024 Criminal TrialOct 14, 2024 – Oct 25, 2024Called by prosecution

Deputy Kayla Rodriguez authenticated three body-camera recordings on Day 5 that presented Sarah Boone's account of the suitcase incident. The court admitted them without objection, they were played for the jury, and the defense declined cross-examination.

Day 1: Jury Selection

Day 2: Jury Selection

Day 3: Jury Selection

Day 5

DirectKayla Rodriguez — DirectKayla RodriguezDave Cacciatore, Jr.4highlightsMentioned43lines spoken

Summary

Rodriguez authenticated three body-camera recordings, admitted without objection and played for the jury, presenting Boone's account of the suitcase incident.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Highlights (4)

Quote“So, the dispatcher informed me that a woman called 911. She was actively performing CPR, and that her boyfriend was in a suitcase.”— Kayla RodriguezIdentifies the information Rodriguez received from dispatch, rather than something she personally observed.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“It does not. When we activate our camera it goes back a minute, and the minute that it goes back to, you don't hear any audio for that first minute.”— Kayla RodriguezExplains why the camera's buffered minute lacks sound.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
procedural actionThe defense declined cross-examination, and Rodriguez was released without recall.Open in transcript →

Day 6

Day 10