Orange County Register

One local mother is going to jail after throwing her son a birthday party she didn’t pay for.

Michelle Lee Williams, 35, was sentenced to 90 days in jail last week after pleading guilty in West Justice Center to felony theft by fraud. Co-defendant Katrina Elizabeth Timoney, 38, was sentenced to 60 days in jail after pleading guilty last month.

Both had charges of grand theft and second degree burglary dismissed.

On July 11, Williams and Timoney went to Coast Party Rentals in Los Alamitos and picked up a Delux Snokonette snow cone machine, an Econo Floss cotton candy machine, and a popcorn machine without a cool brand name, worth about $800 each.

They were recorded by security cameras.

They used an address and credit card number belonging to an unsuspecting Yorba Linda woman, but put their plan had one small hitch: Williams used her actual phone number on the rental agreement, according to a search warrant used in the investigation.

The business owners discovered the fraud and left a message at that number. Williams was nice enough to send them a text message back, saying they’d never see the rental equipment again, according to the warrant.

Enter Det. Chris Karrer of the Los Alamitos Police Department, who has seen tougher cases in his 10 years in law enforcement. Karrer traced the phone number to Williams’ Long Beach address. He paid a visit in August, and a neighbor told him that Williams had shut down California Avenue to throw a block party for her son’s birthday, with snow cone, cotton candy and popcorn machines in the front yard, according to the warrant.

The machines were found during a search of the property, and Williams and Timoney were arrested.

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