An Oklahoma man is speaking out after being arrested for allegedly posing as an attorney to visit his girlfriend at the Oklahoma County Detention Center.
According to court documents, Aaron Oldham attempted to gain access to the jail on October 13 to secure power of attorney paperwork for his girlfriend, Christine Hillier, who was incarcerated there. Jail records indicate that Hillier was taken into custody on October 6 due to charges originating from Douglas County, Nevada.
During his visit on October 13, Oldham reportedly entered the attorney’s visitation area, claiming to be Hillier’s lawyer. He allegedly told jail staff, “We are trained in patients,” a statement investigators later scrutinized.
Once Hillier was brought to the attorney’s booth, Oldham completed the power of attorney forms, and the two reportedly engaged in hugging and kissing. Although Oldham left the facility that day, he was soon arrested for false impersonation after authorities discovered he lacked any legal qualifications or license to practice law.
“It’s a silly misunderstanding and I will never interact with that system again, hopefully,” said Oldham. “I’m a very law-abiding person.”
Oldham told local affiliate KFOR he did not want to explain the details of the allegations.
“I trust, I trust the U.S. legal system,” said Oldham.
Aaron Oldham. Image: Oklahoma County Detention Center. Christine Hillier, Image courtesy Oklahoma County Detention Center KFOR spoke with criminal defense attorney Ed Blau about the allegations, a practicing attorney in Oklahoma County, who says he’s been in and out of the jail on hundreds of occasions visiting clients.
“I’ve been to the jail a couple of hundred times in my career, and I’ve never seen a situation where somebody out of the blue showed up and pretended to either be a bonds person or an attorney,” said Blau. “Most of the time, the staffers either know you or, if they don’t, they request some form of ID and your bar card to show you’re an attorney.”
An Oklahoma County Detention Center spokesperson confirmed to KFOR in a statement on Wednesday that a staff member made a mistake. The statement noted they had been disciplined, and all staff in the attorney visitation area had been retrained:
“An individual recently presented himself at the jail claiming to be an attorney in order to visit an inmate. A staff member did not follow established verification procedures, allowing the individual access. Once the breach was discovered, investigators obtained a warrant, and the individual was arrested at a residence in Oklahoma City. The staff member involved has been disciplined, and all staff assigned to the attorney visitation area have received retraining to reinforce our existing policies and prevent this from happening again.”
Oklahoma County Detention Center
KFOR also spoke with Oklahoma County District One Commissioner Jason Lowe on Wednesday, who said he believes the mistake is a part of a bigger problem at the jail.
“It’s concerning,” said Lowe. “We need more staff at the Oklahoma County Detention Center. We need more funding at the Oklahoma County Center detention center.”
Lowe is also a practicing attorney, and commended jail staff for taking accountability for the mistake, but he said he plans to follow up.
“How do we avoid it?” asked Lowe. “This should never happen again.”
It’s unclear if Hillier will face any additional charges in connection with the incident.
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