Austin man with two identities pleads not guilty to forgery
Published 7:45 am Friday, February 11, 2011
An Austin man pleaded not guilty to two felony forgery charges after authorities discovered he allegedly had two identities.
Police came across Jorge Pozos-Altamirano’s alleged second identity when they ran his license plates because he was parked illegally, according to a court complaint.
When authorities questioned Pozos-Altamirano, he identified himself with his true name and said he had been born in Mexico but lived in Austin for the last 14 years. He said he’s always worked under his true name and has been working with a lawyer and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to gain permanent residency.
According to the court complaint, officers showed him the photo that matched the Felix Paul Lopez-Rivera identity – his alleged alias – and he denied it was him. However, Driver and Vehicle Services facial recognition technology confirmed the photo was of Pozos-Altamirano.
The man later told police he came to the U.S. illegally in 1998 and lived in North Carolina, where he successfully applied for a North Carolina identification card because the state did not require a social security number to obtain ID cards. When he moved to Minnesota, he was able to get a Minnesota driver’s license in his true name.
Pozos-Altamirano said he had a friend help him get a Minnesota ID card under the Lopez-Rivera name in 2007 after he was laid off from the insulation company he worked for. According to the court report, his friend brought him a birth certificate and social security card so he could obtain the ID.
However, after he got the card, he was apparently called back to continue working at the insulation company and never used the fraudulent ID.
Pozos-Altamirano is set to appear again in court for pre-trial on June 10 and for jury trial on June 20.