Lacey police arrest man for faking armed robbery
Lacey police arrested a man Tuesday after he admitted the armed robbery he reported last Friday didn’t happen, the police department said.
Officers were dispatched to a reported armed robbery and car-jacking in a parking lot on the 600 block of Sleater Kinney Road Southeast at about 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 20, Sgt. Jaime Newcomb told The Olympian.
When officers arrived, the man who reported the incident told them a suspect had gotten into the passenger side of his truck after he withdrew money from an ATM. He said the suspect pointed a gun at him, told him to drive and demanded money, Newcomb said.
The man said he gave the suspect about $800 cash and that the suspect hit him in the head during the altercation. The suspect fled down a trail that borders Interstate 5, the man said.
The Olympia Police Department and Thurston County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene and initiated a K-9 track, Newcomb said. The K-9 was unable to pick up a scent.
The next day, police treated the incident as an armed robbery, but the investigation started to turn when evidence discredited what the man told police, Newcomb said.
“There were some inconsistencies in the victim’s story that didn’t quite make sense,” Newcomb said.
For one, there was no visible injury that would be consistent with being hit in the head, according to Newcomb. Video surveillance footage also went against the man’s version of events.
Tuesday, police interviewed the man again, and he admitted he made up the story. He said $800 had been stolen out of his truck, and he didn’t want to explain to his family how he had lost the money. He also told officers he wanted to see if the bank would reimburse him for the funds — the bank did not, Newcomb said.
The Lacey man was booked into Nisqually Jail on one count of obstructing for providing false and misleading statements to law enforcement.
”It’s important for us to get it right, so we can put people at ease that this crime didn’t occur and there’s no safety concerns for the citizens,” Newcomb said.
This story was originally published December 25, 2019 at 10:13 AM.
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