2 more theft and drug arrests since the spring, Ben Franklin and rosary tattoos helped nab him

CLERMONT, Fla. – A familiar face is back behind bars for at least the sixth time and he may have been even more recognizable than before, thanks to certain tattoos on his hands.

A police officer in Florida was leaving a gas station when he noticed “a vehicle parked” and a woman “who appeared to be arguing with someone, but looked like she was talking to herself.

“I also could smell the strong odor of burnt marijuana in the air,” he wrote in the arrest report, shortly after midnight on July 6. 

“I approached the car to make contact through a consensual encounter,” he reported.

Then, “As soon as I got to the passenger side, I could smell the strong odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle.

“I introduced myself and asked who had weed, and the driver stated it just got out.”

The cop said he asked the driver, Jordan Miguel Rodriguez, and his passenger, “if either subject possessed a medical marijuana license, and they stated no.

“Both subjects were told to exit the vehicle, and sat on the curbing of the parking lot.

“A probable cause search of the vehicle” reportedly turned up “a black Ziploc bag, and inside was a clear plastic bag with a green leafy substance. This was located on the center console of the vehicle.

“Item 2: A clear plastic bag with a round blue pill. The pill had the imprint of ‘K 9.’ This was located in the center console,” and it reportedly turned out to be oxycodone, a Schedule II drug.

The passenger said she didn’t know anything about the pill, but Rodriguez, “When asked about a blue pill, he stated he did not know about it.

“I then asked if he ever used pills before,” the arrest report said, “and he stated no. I asked if he ever has used pills before, and he stated no, that he only smokes weed. He then admitted to buy the weed I found on the streets.”

Rodriguez was arrested for the oxycodone since it wasn’t “in a prescription bottle with his name on it, it was found in a vehicle registered to him, where he was also sitting in the driver seat.”

That’s when the passenger, who was not arrested, asked “about a lock box that should have been in the glove box.

“I stated I was unaware of this, and we did not see one.

“She insisted it should be in the glove box and began to look on the driver side.

“The passenger then removed a box with a lock from under the driver seat. She then opened it and immediately I saw a packaging similar to what the marijuana was located in.

“At this point, the box was seized and the following items were located: a black digital scale with marijuana residue on it, [a] clear round container containing three blue rectangular pills with the imprint ‘B707,’ [and an] empty package of ‘Purple Punch.’”

The pills were later found to be alprazolam, the arrest report said.

“The passenger appeared to be shocked” with what was found, “and insisted it should just be money inside.

“I returned to Rodriguez,” the officer wrote, “and he stated the box was his. Rodriguez also later confirmed the code for the box.

“Due to the box’s location and his admission of it being his, and knowing the code,” Rodriguez was charged with possession of oxycodone, possession of alprazolam, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He pleaded not guilty to all three, his bond was set at $6,000, and he was released after less than 12 hours in jail.

He didn’t stay out for long.

Rodriguez reportedly spent part of Aug. 19 at a Lowe’s home improvement store in Leesburg, “taking several tools from the store without paying,” that arrest report said.

A detective reported “the loss prevention associate … was able to observe the defendant load several tool items into an empty shopping cart and exit the store, passing all points of sale,” even when she and a coworker tried to stop him.

“A store associate observes the defendant trying to exit through the lumber area exit doors.

“The associate attempts to stop the defendant, asking him to produce a receipt for these items in his cart.

“The defendant explains to the associate that he purchased these items using the self-checkout.

“He went on to say that the register failed to give him a receipt.

“The associate attempts to call a manager to her location to confirm if the defendant did or did not pay for the items in his cart.

“The store associate asks the defendant to hold on while she called the manager.

“The defendant then begins to walk away with the associate yelling, ‘sir sir, hold on.’

“The defendant then pushes the full cart past the store associate and exits the store.” 

The arrest report continued, “The defendant pushes the full cart to the rear of a gray in color Mazda passenger car.” Note, the car in the previous encounter was not described.

Finally, the detective reported video surveillance showed “the defendant filling the shopping cart with store merchandise.

“The defendant clearly leaves the store, passing all points of sale.

“I was able to observe the two distinctive tattoos on the back of both his right and left hands.

“I was able to clearly observe a rosary on his left hand and the image of Ben Franklin on his right hand.

“I was able to compare these photos with Lake County booking photos clearly showing the defendant’s unique tattoos.”

Plus, the car’s license plate “shows it is solely registered to Jordan Rodriguez.”

The items reportedly taken that day “include one DeWalt saw valued at $129, one DeWalt rotary hammer drill valued at $239, one Bosch hammer drill valued at $329, and one Kobalt reciprocating saw valued at $129.

“The total amount of items taken is $826.”

Rodriguez, 25, was charged with grand theft between $750 and $5,000, and resisting a merchant.

His bond was set at $6,000, and he was released after three hours in jail.

“The tattoo of rosary beads on his left hand” was mentioned in an arrest report for Rodriguez last April. So was “a face on his right hand,” unidentified at the time.

Rodriguez was identified as the person who stole cash from two registers at a store where he had worked several months earlier.

Since then, prosecutors decided not to pursue charges of burglary and petit theft.

These days, Rodriguez describes himself as a line cook.