Jul. 9—A Birmingham man with a violent criminal history was arrested last week and charged with multiple felony identity theft offenses after Vermont authorities tracked him to Limestone County and alerted local investigators about his suspected involvement in a financial fraud case, according to the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office.
Keonta Demarius Cottingham, 27, is charged with trafficking in stolen identities, three counts of identity theft, and possession of a pistol by a violent felon and was booked into Limestone County Jail on June 30. His bond was set at $1.01 million but a hold has been placed on him by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, according to Limestone County Jail records.
Detectives with the Williston Police Department in Vermont contacted a Limestone County Sheriff’s deputy about a financial fraud investigation involving a local business in Vermont, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The business had its banking information stolen and a stolen identity was used to deposit fraudulent checks.
The Vermont authorities said they tracked the suspect, identified as Cottingham, in Limestone County and deputies responded to his location and conducted a traffic stop on his vehicle as he was leaving the scene.
In a complaint filed in Limestone County District Court, Cottingham possessed five or more identification documents of the same person, which included three Regions Visa debit cards, one Redstone Visa debit card, and a driver’s license.
The Sheriff’s Office said deputies found an AR-15 pistol in Cottingham’s passenger seat, which provided probable cause to search the vehicle, leading to the discovery of stolen identities.
Cottingham told the deputies about his criminal history, according to the Sheriff’s Office, including previous charges of attempted murder, robbery, and shooting into occupied buildings and that he is currently on probation from prior convictions.
An affidavit said the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Cottingham and charged him with attempted murder on July 31, 2021 for allegedly shooting a man with a pistol. The attempted murder charge was dismissed on March 9, 2022, in Jefferson County District Court after a judge ruled that prosecutors had not shown probable cause for the case to proceed.
Court records show Cottingham is scheduled to appear Wednesday in Jefferson County Circuit Court for a pretrial docket on a charge of second-degree receiving stolen property. On April 29, 2021, an affidavit said he was found to be in possession of a stolen pistol and had “reasonable grounds to believe it had been stolen and not having the intent to restore it to its owner.”
— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.