DALLAS — Several families came to the Dallas County Courthouse Friday expecting to see a man accused of stealing 20 homes plead guilty and be sentenced to prison time.
But they only could watch on confused as to why William Baldridge claimed he didn’t know about any plea agreement.
The families arrived at court early this past Friday, waiting for Baldridge, who is accused of stealing homes belonging to them.
Paul Dodson and his mother lost the Dallas home that had belonged to his great grandparents for decades. A fraudulent property deed conveyed the property to a company owned by Baldridge in 2018.
That same year, another fraudulent deed transferred the home that had belonged to Susan Bloyed’s late father to another company owned by Baldridge. That home was torn down, and another house was later built where it once stood.
Neither family has recovered the properties they say were stolen from them.
Prosecutors allege that Baldridge stole those two homes -- along with 18 others -- using forged property deeds. They said Baldridge was set to plead guilty Friday in Dallas County Criminal District Court No. 7.
In the proposed plea deal, prosecutors said Baldridge was to receive a 12-year prison sentence.
“That’s why I came to witness this,” Bloyed said.
Baldridge declined to speak to WFAA as he entered the courtroom.
But once he entered the court, things did not go as expected.
“I had no idea I was walking into a plea agreement today or anything else,” Baldridge told District Judge Chika Anyiam.
Baldridge told the judge there’d been a communication problem between himself and his court-appointed attorney, Paul Johnson. He said he was in the process of retaining a new attorney.
Johnson, however, told the judge that Baldridge knew exactly what was going on, and that he had even requested extra time to “secure his personal affairs and say goodbye to his kids.”
“Now he’s claiming that he doesn’t know this is set for a plea agreement, which is a complete falsehood,” Johnson said. “I’m not going to stand here and say there’s a communication problem when there’s not.”
Judge Anyiam didn’t seem inclined to believe Baldridge.
“Your attorney is a very experienced attorney” Judge Anyiam said. “Very detailed. He’s practiced in this building for decades. And he is meticulous, as far as I've seen, in notifying his clients, whether it's a trial setting, a plea setting or otherwise.”
The judge told Baldridge that he had a constitutional right to his own attorney, and that he would be allowed to appoint a new one. But Judge Anyiam also told Baldridge that she would not tolerate or entertain another last-minute change of representation.
If convicted, Baldridge faces up to life in prison.
After the hearing, WFAA again asked Baldridge for comment.
“You want a real story?” he asked. “I’ll give you a real story.”
But when asked what the “real” story was, Baldridge walked away.
For families who lost their homes, Friday wasn't the resolution they'd hoped to experience. They had expected to see Baldridge led away in handcuffs at the conclusion of the proceedings. Instead, they were left with more waiting on their plates.
“Being able to see him walk off and be somebody just walking the streets is just very disappointing,” Dodson said.
Carla Rankin, an attorney who represented Baldridge’s ex-wife and uncovered the allegations of deed fraud that ultimately led to the indictments, was likewise disappointed.
“He knew he was going to do this today, and he knew the offer on the table, and he doesn’t want to be held accountable,” Rankin said.
Baldridge is due back in court this Wednesday with his new attorney.