A felon with four prior convictions in Virginia has been charged with possession of firearms and trespassing onto Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, where he lived for a year in base housing without authorization, according to federal court records. (San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS)
A felon with four prior convictions in Virginia has been charged with possession of firearms and trespassing onto Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, where he lived for a year in base housing without authorization, according to federal court records.
James Andrew White was arrested Jan. 16 at the base for being a felon in possession of firearms, a felony, and trespassing upon a military installation, a misdemeanor. He is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 12.
According to an affidavit from the Criminal Investigative Division at Camp Pendleton, White was apprehended at the on-base home leased by Cpl. Nicholas Rosa and his wife, Heaven Rosa.
Under a search warrant, officers found two .22 caliber rifles as well as .22 and .45 ammunition in a room that Cpl. Rosa said had been used for the past year by White.
Rosa told investigators he was aware that White was staying on base without authorization. He said he was not aware of White’s criminal record or that firearms were being kept in the home he leased. He said White used a Veterans Administration identification card at times to access the base.
White had been barred from the base earlier because of his felony convictions.
He was convicted in 2014 of writing bad checks in Gloucester County, Va., and of carrying a concealed firearm without a permit in the county in 2015. He was convicted in York County, Va., in 2015 for receiving unauthorized prescription drugs.
He received suspended sentences and probation on all three convictions.
In 2017, he was jailed in Gloucester County for 6 months of a 5-year sentence for a probation violation.
The affidavit from Camp Pendleton law enforcement said that Cpl. Rosa had been read his Miranda rights as well as his rights under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The court records did not specify if Rosa or his wife are alleged to have broken any laws.
The complaint and an affidavit refer to White as a veteran, but no materials indicate his branch or time of service.
White told investigators he avoided leaving the residence because he lacked authorized identification to be on the base. He claimed that Rosa and his wife had at times driven him off base using White’s Dodge Caravan. The court documents contain security camera photos of the van being driven by both the husband and wife in December 2025.
The arrest was first reported by Luke Harold, who writes about federal courts on Substack.
