A Lancaster man pleaded no contest last week to a pair of charges connected to allegations of identity theft and weapons possession, a case that started over an unauthorized iPhone purchase.
Christopher John Williamson pleaded no contest April 21 to one count of felony identity theft and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Just prior to the start of his hearing, Williamson’s attorney announced that he was taking a plea agreement offer, which is 16 months in prison for both counts, which are to run concurrently, according to the transcript of the hearing in San Fernando Superior Court.
Williamson asked for permission to delay the start of his sentence to June 1 for a family matter, according to the court record.
Judge Michael Terrell granted the request, noting Williamson had never been late or missed a hearing, but also added that he was moving it as a sentencing date, not a surrender date — because if anything else happens, Williamson could receive a higher sentence, he said in the transcript.
Due to the admission of the circumstance and aggravating factor — that Williamson had a previous conviction and a record that indicated an escalation in criminal activity — the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office asked for the maximum, which was listed on a charge sheet as four years.
His previous conviction involved a 2018 case from the Compton Courthouse for illegal firearm activity.
Williamson was tracked down by Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station personnel after a family member of the victim contacted the station with concern.
The Valencia resident told detectives he knew his father hadn’t ordered an iPhone to his home because he was in the hospital, according to an SCV detective’s search warrant.
When the family member saw the alert from T-Mobile, he decided to wait for the UPS driver to make the delivery so he could refuse the package. 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 UPS 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 looked like a fake California driver’s license pasted over a real one, according to the detective’s 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 ultimately found the UPS driver, whose story corroborated the account from the victim’s son.
