A Lancaster felon accused of identity theft, weapons possession and disobeying a court order pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Friday after telling Judge Michael Terrell he was willing to forgo his preliminary hearing.
Christopher James Williamson, 37, pleaded not guilty to all charges in Terrell’s courtroom in San Fernando Superior Court and was ordered to be released on $100,000 bond.
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies arrested Williamson in April after a report from a Valencia man, who caught a fraudulent iPhone and iWatch order made in his father’s name.
The son of the victim later told detectives that his father was hospitalized with brain cancer, which is how he knew his father didn’t order the equipment.
The victim’s son decided to refuse the package upon delivery, so his father wouldn’t be charged for the equipment he didn’t order, according to the detective’s report. When an alert came from T-Mobile, the son waited for the UPS driver to make the delivery.
As the son watched the delivery man pull up with the package, he saw a man next to a gray Toyota near the driver, whom he believed was trying to intercept the Apple order.
The son told detectives that, when the man next to the Toyota spotted him, he took off.
The delivery driver then told the fraud victim’s son that the man who had just left in the Toyota had flagged down the truck about four blocks earlier, trying to intercept the package with what appeared to be a fake driver’s license, according to the detective’s report in a request to search Williamson’s home.
“The fraudulent purchase used the victim’s personal identifying information, including name, address and bank card,” according to the report from Detective Kelley Barnes, who found the UPS driver and got a story that matched the one of the victim’s son.
At a preliminary hearing, a judge hears the prosecution’s case, any affirmative defense, and then determines whether there’s enough potential evidence to prove guilt at a trial.
Williamson is now due back in court Nov. 5 for a pretrial hearing.
