Currently
37°
Fog

Advertisement





News

CLASSIFIEDS


Advertisement


Free Ad

Place an ad
in print and online, 24/7 for free, select the Clean Sweep option. Unable to submit Real Estate, Services, and Business Investements at this time.

Get a Subscription


Map the Valley


Subscriber/
Reader Services

Subscribe Now
Contact Customer Service



Local woman accused in grand theft via Internet

A home computer, Craigslist and a fraudulent PayPal account were all a local woman needed to allegedly commit five counts of grand theft in a case that left victims all across the United States, Hanford Police officials said. An ongoing investigation into numerous instances of theft by false pretenses led local police officers to the 800 block of Silverado Street, where a Wednesday afternoon search and seizure led to the arrest of 35-year-old Danette Gayton Williams.

During the search, officers located several items that had apparently been purchased using a fraudulent PayPal account from different vendors online.

"What was going on was that she would send fake PayPal receipts to the people she was supposedly buying the stuff from," Sgt. George Hernandez said. "When people got the receipts, they would say that the money would be transferred to them in 72 hours. Well, since it was through PayPal, they believed it, thought the money was on its way and would mail the items out before they realized it was a fraud.

"Many of the victims just cut their losses and said 'oh well' when they figured it out. But, we've gotten many reports and we know more victims will come forward as time goes on."

Victims in the case have been located as far and wide as Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Arizona. Many victims have also been located that have yet to come forward to law enforcement officials regarding the thefts.

During the search, investigators recovered over $10,000 worth of property at the Silverado Street residence, including items like jewelry, clothing, a computer and an LCD projector. Officers said the amount of evidence recovered reads like "a laundry list."

The 2:30 p.m. arrest of Gayton Williams also developed further complications when the woman apparently suffered a heart attack while being transported to the Kings County Jail. She was taken to Central Valley General Hospital for treatment, where she will remain for several days, officials said. Until the time she can be released, she has been cited on suspicion of five counts of grand theft.

Hanford Police officials said that the investigation is still ongoing at this time, as additional suspects and victims still need to be identified.

Citizens are cautioned to verify the validity of PayPal accounts when selling or purchasing items online.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2425.

(Oct. 10, 2008)

POST A COMMENT

 

Hanfordsentinel.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed, particularly if they are posted after normal office hours.

We reserve the right to remove comments in total that violate our code of conduct. If you want to report a violation, please e-mail editor@HanfordSentinel.com

For more information please read our Terms of use, and Rules of the Road.

 


Please log in to post comments
*Member ID:
*Password:
  Forgot Your Password?
 
If you don't have an account you can create one for free by clicking the link below.
CREATE ACCOUNT
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the views of the Hanford Sentinel

Alan G wrote on Oct 10, 2008 2:44 PM:

" Ah yes, the old fake heart attack routine. I'll bet it was more a case of hyperventilation from being busted. Maybe it was a real heart attack and she was being punished for her sins? "

Tony wrote on Oct 10, 2008 3:24 PM:

" People like this somertimes fake health issues when caught. Conduct like this is pure stupidity.
I hope they throw the book at her......and a video projector.....computer.....and everything else she stole. "

Kermit the Frong wrote on Oct 10, 2008 10:48 PM:

" The woods are full of them! Hanford, you've got members of your city planning commission who don't even pay their rent and do nothing but lie to the landlord. Is there anyone left in town that we can trust? It's looking like not. "

mommyme wrote on Oct 13, 2008 4:33 PM:

" Concur with Alan G. I heard to this behavior last year when a 31 year old (in my neighborhood) FAKED a heart attack on the morning of her DUI court appearance. PUHLEEZE. "

Alihandero wrote on Oct 13, 2008 8:22 PM:

" Good golly, yet another possible candidate for that failed criminal Re-Entry facility that will not be built here.

Allegedly that is.

Alan G. apparently knows how to diagnose a 'fake heart attack' or quite possibly he knows one when he sees one.

Pure speculation on my part, of course. "

Alihandero wrote on Oct 13, 2008 8:45 PM:

" Gosh, yet another possible candidate for that failed criminal Re-Entry facility that will not be built here.

Allegedly that is.

Alan G. apparently knows how to diagnose a 'fake heart attack' or quite possibly he knows one when he sees one.

Pure speculation on my part, of course. "

Tony wrote on Oct 14, 2008 12:14 AM:

" To Alejandro
The art of faking a heart attacking is common with thieves of all kind when caught.
get off Alans back and try to stay on target.
it's just like shooting womp-rats back at your home planet.
Stay on target. "

Alan G wrote on Oct 14, 2008 11:57 AM:

" I call 'em like I see 'em Alihandero. "

Alihandero wrote on Oct 14, 2008 6:29 PM:

" You gentlemen don't know much about healthcare.

The report said:

"She was taken to Central Valley General Hospital for treatment, where she will remain for several days, officials said."

To diagnose a cardiac problem, the ER staff of physicians and nurses screen the supposed ‘faker' with a physical exam, EKGs and laboratory blood work at a minimum.

You can't fake those objective findings, laddies.

And if the was a ‘faking' situation, no hospital or physician would order an extended hospital stay for no reason at all. Healthcare requiring inpatient hospitalization must have a valid collection of symptoms; try googling ‘utilization review' and ‘hospital admission criteria' for starters.

People need to stick with intelligent comments in their respective fields of expertise or do the research required to make a cogent comment. "

Kermit the Frong wrote on Oct 14, 2008 8:55 PM:

" If I were getting busted, I'd probably have a heart attack too... "




Advertisement


HOT TOPICS

> More Hot Topics


SENTINEL BLOGS

Going All-in by Richard de Give

Shout-outs for the Bullpups!

Thought we’d change things up a little bit to let all of you in cyberland send your best wishes to Hanford High’s football team as it gets ready for Friday’s Central Section Division III championship game. The Bullpups (12-1) are in the title game for the first time since 1982, and this Friday’s title game [...]

Daydream Island by Shannon Milliken

38 Things

I know, I know. It’s been a long time. But I’m back on the blogs again and thanks to my coverage of education I’ve got something to say in light of tomorrow’s holiday. (haha, I rhyme, and get ready, because this is going to be cheesy). So, in school, the teachers typically have their students write [...]

Sentinel Online by Josh Parrish

Sentinel Photo Galleries

You might have noticed we just launched our new photo gallery section.  Not only will you get to sift through multiple new galleries every week from our excellent photographers, Apolinar Fonseca and Gary Feinstein, but you will be able to look at local readers’ photos as well. Enthusiasts, parents with a camera, or anyone else can [...]

Going All-in by Richard de Give

Fearful Football Forecast: Week 12

Are some of these leagues getting so predictable that even I can predict them right? I was just doing last week’s totals and can’t believe I again nailed just about all of them. The one miss, the Cowboys, of course. I generally haven’t fared well in these things at other papers, seriously! 13-1 again, now [...]

Publisher's Desk by Randy Rickman

How Obama Got Elected

We have all heard about media bias and its alleged effect on the outcome of the recent election. This topic was brought up in another blog community and we discussed it to death. One of my colleagues sent me a link to a website that features a video taped on election day. The video features twelve Obama voters that were [...]

> More Blogs


MORE LOCAL NEWS

Lemoore:

Selma:

Kingsburg:



EMAIL UPDATES

Sign up today to get all your local headlines delivered to your home or work e-mail address, so you don't miss the latest in breaking and local news.
E-Mail:
Daily News Updates
Breaking News Alerts