Algerian National’s Identity a Mystery

Federal authorities Friday were aggressively seeking the true identity of an Algerian national arrested by Signal Hill police last month on false document charges.

The man, who initially gave his name as Ouiddir Saadi, is being held on state charges of forging an official seal, using a false document to conceal citizenship, making deceptive identification and forgery of automobile ownership.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for May 15 in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Long Beach.

In the meantime, the FBI has been searching state and federal databases seeking information on the man, believed to be 35, who has given at least three names since his arrest by Signal Hill police on April 17.

Authorities said the FBI was alerted shortly after the man first appeared in a Long Beach courtroom.

“Prosecutors were twice told privately by someone in the courtroom that it would be wise to investigate this person further,” said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

“We talked to Signal Hill police, and their investigators found more information,” Gibbons said.

That information included passports, photographs and documents that led authorities to believe the man was likely to flee, according to court documents.

Signal Hill Police Chief Don Pedersen and the man’s public defender, Anthony Patalano, refused to talk about the case.

On April 24, Deputy Dist. Atty. Lori Carnahan recommended that the suspect be held without bail pending clarification of his background.

Instead, bail for the man, described in court documents as an illegal alien born in Algeria, was increased from $20,000 to $100,000.