Colorado Woman Fights To Clear Name Stolen By Sister
GREELEY, Colo. (AP) - It's a burden that Kristina Autobee has been fighting for years, and she hasn't been able to get much help, even from the state of Colorado.
Years ago, Autobee's sister, Jolene Calderon, began using Autobee's identity to hide from the law. Courts on the Western Slope still list Calderon as her sister, Autobee.
Then, last month, Autobee's name was listed as a parolee in the Greeley area and identified her as a former prisoner, a gang member and a felon. Only, it wasn't Autobee. It was her sister, Calderon.
A court case in Weld County now shows that Calderon has used 21 aliases in the past, and the state of Colorado identifies her as Kristina Autobee -- her sister's name.
"The phone started ringing the morning her name was in the paper," said Autobee's husband, Jacob. "Everybody was asking about Kristina being in prison. She never has been arrested for anything."
The real Kristina Autobee has lived in Greeley all her life, and it wasn't until her sister started using her name five years ago that her problems started. The Autobees said they first tried to help her sister, but now they have given up and are just trying to retrieve the real Kristina's name.
Colorado Department of Corrections lists Calderon under Autobee's name as a parolee, and a spokeswoman said they must use the name the felon is convicted under, even if it's an alias. That means, because Calderon was arrested in Grand Junction in 2006 -- using Autobee's name -- it's Autobee who is listed as a felon, even though it's her sister.
"It's very frustrating for us, also," said state parole spokeswoman Katherine Senguinetti. "Whatever name she was sentenced under (in this case, Kristina Autobee) we have to use that name on the parole releases."
Senguinetti also said the problem has risen before with other parolees who were using another person's name, and that an innocent person's life can get very complicated even in a routine traffic stop.
"The innocent person then has to go through all the work to show they aren't the felon," Senguinetti said.
And that's what worries the real Kristina Autobee the most.
"I'm a stay-at-home mom with a disabled child," she said. "I'm afraid if I go out and drive somewhere and I'm stopped by a cop, they'll look up my name and believe all of the crimes of my sister were done by me."
Calderon has been released on parole in Greeley. Her arrest record in Weld County lists her under the name of Jolene Mendoza -- not Autobee or Calderon.
Calderon has been arrested three times. Once was for a theft, another for possession of drugs, and six charges of not following court or Department of Corrections rules. Her last arrest in Weld County was in 2007 on four charges of failing to appear in court. In those cases, warrants were issued for her arrest.
On the theft charge, court records show Calderon took more than $20,000 from her son's trust account, which he was awarded following a lawsuit after he was attacked by a pit bull. The money was supposed to go for her son's reconstructive surgery, but Calderon admitted she spent the money on herself. In that Weld County case, she pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Court records show when Calderon was questioned about using her son's trust, she said she didn't want to work and preferred to work on her autobiography.
Calderon's first arrest under the assumed name, Kristina Autobee, was in Grand Junction, when Calderon was charged with selling drugs and was sentenced to six years in prison. She told the courts her name was Kristina Autobee, and that was the name she had when she went to prison. The drug case in Grand Junction is listed under the her sister's name of Kristina Autobee.
A call to the Mesa County courts indicates there's nothing the courts can do now to change the name on the arrest and court reports. If someone inquires, they can tell them the bogus Kristina Autobee's real name is Jolene Calderon, but it's the Autobee name that appears first on the court case.
The real Kristina Autobee and her husband have been trying to get courts to change the name on records, but nothing has worked. They're now trying to obtain court records the real Kristina Autobee can carry, so if she's stopped by a police officer, she can show them she has no criminal record.
On April 1, Weld District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Jennifer Finch was able to get Autobee some help to retrieve her own identity. The couple brought legal papers to the Weld courts that will ask Mesa County to change the Kristina Autobee name to her sister's real name.
Now, the only thing the Autobees can do is wait.
Calderon could not be reached for comment for this story.
- By Mike Peters, The Daily Tribune
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
