By Veronica Miller
WOODLAND, CA – Yolo County Superior Court Judge Samuel McAdam presided Thursday over the preliminary hearing of Mohammed Abughannam, who has 16 charges ranging from felony to misdemeanor for mail theft, possession of the identification of another, possession of narcotics, forgery and intent to defraud.
Abughannam allegedly was found going through the mailboxes at a Davis apartment. A worker said they saw Abughannam rifling through the mail and contacted the police.
Police Officer Nicholas Burke testified he found pry marks on the mailboxes indicating that someone had tried to get into them. An apartment worker had also told the officer they heard Abughannam yell when items would contain names on them.
Upon finding Abughannam, Officer Burke said he searched the defendant’s baackpack where he found numerous mail items, social security cards, checks including a UC Davis financial aid check, identification cards, wallets, and bank cards. 
Two of the checks that were found in the backpack had Abughannam’s name written over the recipient’s name.
Officer Burke had tried to contact the names that were on the mail and the cards, but at the beginning of the pandemic a lot of the people, who were students, were no longer living in town, he said.
In another event, Abughannam was allegedly seen with several different mail items and going through the trash at a Davis restaurant.
Sheriff’s Deputy Keith Dougherty had been called to the scene where Abughannam was found with bank cards and identification cards from other people. There were also many different mail items found on him.
Abughannam had allegedly given Deputy Dougherty a fake name, which was the name on a card that he had in possession. Through photos and tattoo identification Deputy Dougherty was able to identify Abughannam.
Abughannam was also allegedly caught trying to use a card and identification that did not belong to him at two separate hotels in Davis. He was accompanied by a woman who was trying to pass the identification off as hers.
Witnesses said through photo identification the hotel staff was able to identify that it was Abughannam who was present at the time.
Abughannam also is accused, on two separate occasions, of using cards that belonged to someone else to make purchases in stores around Woodland and Davis.
Abughannam’s preliminary hearing, to determine if his case should go to trial, will reconvene.
