A Solano County Superior Court judge on Thursday sentenced a 66-year-old Vacaville man, the owner of Winters Auto Body and Paint in Winters, to one year in county jail and granted two year’s formal probation after he was convicted last month on four counts of grand theft of personal property.
Judge Jeffrey C. Kauffman handed down the sentence during a hearing in Department 1, where he then ordered Keith Scott Williamson to return to court for a bail review hearing at 9 a.m. on Sept. 9. The judge also noted the defendant had 57 credited days in custody.
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Kauffman also ordered that Williamson, silver-haired, clad in a striped jail jumpsuit and shackled, be subject to a waiver of “flash incarceration,” a period of short-term detention, typically lasting one to 10 days in jail, punishment that can be imposed without a court hearing and the loss of a half-dozen constitutional rights, among them representation by an attorney and the right to remain silent.
For the time being, the judge also waived fines and court fees against Williamson and reserved restitution to victims, which requires a separate hearing.
As part of Williamson’s probation, court documents indicate that he must complete 80 hours of community service; not buy or own body armor; not buy or possess a firearm or ammunition; attend and successfully complete counseling and therapy; seek and maintain full-time job; not leave California; have no contact with the victims; and obtain a high school diploma or pass the General Educational Development (GED) test to earn a high school equivalency diploma.
Additionally, Williamson, upon release from custody, is barred from fixing, repairing, modifying, and restoring or overseeing work on a registered vehicle or street-legal race car. Kauffman also ordered that Williamson “return or allow access to any vehicles currently in possession” at the Putah Creek Road shop that belong to former customers.
The sentencing of Williamson, convicted on Aug. 7, comes at the end of a years-long investigation and the Solano County District Attorney’s Office filing a criminal complaint on March 20, 2020. Deputy District Attorney Judy Ann Ycasas led the prosecution. Deputy Public Defender Camilla Amato represented Williamson.
Jurors convicted Williamson on the four counts and one misdemeanor count of petty theft — four other counts of grand theft were dismissed and he was acquitted of one count of grant theft — stemming from fraudulent business dealings with five separate customers between 2017 and 2020.
According to prosecutors, each victim had entrusted Williamson with a prized classic vehicle — three Ford Mustangs, a Jeep, and a Chevrolet pickup truck, among them — and paid tens of thousands of dollars for restoration work that was never completed.
Court testimony revealed that Williamson took payments for extensive repairs, custom paint jobs, and in some instances, complete overhauls. Yet the court found that he performed only minimal work, often leaving the vehicles to sit untouched in his shop for months or even years.
The prosecution’s exhibit list included video of a Sheriff investigator’s statements; color photos of a Mustang disassembled; a disassembled Jeep; a two-page citation from the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR); four checks from a victim that were dated from May, 31, 2017, through Aug. 21, 2017; and credit card statements.
Court records show Amato filed a brief on July 25, 2025, that asserted Ycasas changed the prosecution’s legal theory from “theft by larcency to theft by false pretenses,” violating Williamson’s due process and statutory rights, forcing the defense to change the defense’s strategy.
At one point during the sentencing hearing, Kauffman called for victim-impact statements and three in all were heard.
Seated at the prosecutor’s table, Robin Reed said a vehicle she entrusted to Williamson “meant so much” to the family,” calling it “a show car.” She estimated the loss at $9,000.
Ycasas read two other submitted statements, from Fernando Leon and Pamela Peterson.
Leon expressed “frustration” and “pain” in his dealings with Williamson, and Peterson said her effort to to have Williamson restore a 1968 Mustang amounted to “a devastating journey of broken promises.”
At one point, Ycasas told the judge that Williamson kept accepting customers “despite having his automotive repair license revoked.”
In a brief interview outside the courtroom following the sentencing, Kevin Hall of Fair Oaks, a Sacramento suburb, said he entrusted Williamson to restore a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro and paid him $50,000 for the bumper-to-bumper restoration.
He has yet to recover any of the money he advanced Williamson, saying that, over the years, he had “experienced” a wide range of emotions dealing with the loss of a considerable investment. He had hoped that his daughter would drive the vehicle to her high school graduation.
“I’ll have to take it to junk yard even if I retrieve it” from Williamson’s shop, he told The Reporter. “If I get my car back, what am I going to do with it? I can’t get my money back.”
After the jury verdict against Williamson, the DA’s Office issued a statement saying Williamson “gave various reasons and excuses for the extended delays,” and ultimately “refused to provide refunds to all five customers, who then resorted to filing complaints with the Bureau of Automotive Repair.”
Prosecutors estimate that the victims suffered nearly $90,000 in financial losses.
“Over the years, this case was continued and delayed in court on numerous occasions,” according to the statement’s wording. “We are grateful that, despite all of the delays, the victims never gave up on the criminal justice system.”
