Petition for Certificate of Identity Theft Granted, Compton

Our client, age 28, was carjacked at gunpoint in North Hollywood by a Hispanic man in November of 2022.  Our client handed got out of his car and the Hispanic man drove off with our client’s wallet in the center console.

Our client immediately reported the crime to the Los Angeles Police Department, Valley Division.

Our client’s car was later recovered, abandoned, on a street in Compton.  The car had major front end damage and appeared to have been in several collisions.  Our client’s driver’s license was not found.

However, about nine months later, after the client had move back home to Fort Wayne, Indiana, he did a background check on himself and discovered, much to his horror, that he had been convicted of felony taking a vehicle without another’s consent (a violation of Vehicle Code § 10851) and misdemeanor resisting, obstructing or delaying arrest (Penal Code § 148(a)(1)) in the Compton Courthouse. 

According to the background report, the conviction took place three months after our client’s car had been stolen and even after our client had moved back to Fort Wayne.  He realized then that his identity, no doubt based on his stolen driver’s license, was how his name had been attributed with this crime.

He further found out that the real name of the thief had a prior history for felony burglary from 2009 that also had been correlated to our client, again by matching the driver’s license of our client to the criminal’s name.  In 2009, ironically, our client was 14 years old and a freshman in high school in Indiana.

The client’s mom then called Greg Hill & Associates, described what had happened to her son and asked what could be done.  She was especially concerned because this supposed criminal history for two felonies was preventing her son from gaining employment. 

Greg commented that this would probably only grow worse, as the true criminal at issue most likely would commit more felonies in the future and may even have bench warrants and arrest warrants that would be tied to our client in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that could lead to his arrest.

Greg then explained that he could file a petition for a certificate of identity theft, first in the Compton Courthouse and then in the downtown Los Angeles Courthouse, called the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Courts building, however, this may not solve the problem for good because the real criminal may commit more crimes over time.  Nonetheless, such certificates of identity theft would help.

Greg explained further that just getting a Certificate of Identity Theft was really not the end of the process.  It was important that the client receive a Judicial Clearance document that he could carry with him in his wallet and / or car to show police.  It was also important for the clerk to transmit a DL-157 form to the California DMV to update their records, thereby severing the link from our client’s driver’s license to the Compton case.  The California DMV database is then shared with 46 other states (not excluding Indiana) through the Interstate Compact, so this would then clear our client’s Indiana driving record insofar as the Compton case.

The client’s mom then sent Greg the police report from the client’s carjacking in North Hollywood, the client’s Experion credit report showing the client’s identity being attributed to the Compton conviction and the downtown Los Angeles conviction, our client’s driver’s license showing his photograph and his Fort Wayne address and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s booking record for the client for the Compton case showing an individual with a Hispanic name (presumably his true name), but identifying him with our client’s driver’s license number.

Our office then prepared the Petition for a Certificate of Identity Theft judicial council forms (CR-150 and CR-151) and then filed and served them in the Compton Superior Court.

About two weeks after we filed the petition, the Compton Court notified our office of a hearing date for the petition.

At the hearing, the judge granted the petition and signed the Certificate of Identity Theft, but there was a new requirement as of 2023 that the petitioner (our client in Indiana) be fingerprinted and give his fingerprint in court on the Judicial Clearance form, which is needed before the DL-157 could be transmitted to the DMV to complete the process of disassociating our client with the Compton convictions.  So, our client made plans to come out to California to give his fingerprints in the presence of the clerk in the Compton Courthouse.

We present this summary to share our experience and the new requirements for receiving a judicial clearance so others can learn from our experience and know what to expect.