Warrick Co. Sheriff's Office Files Charges Against Woman For False Reporting
By: Shalah Sasse
Updated: February 19, 2013
It was a reported crime that left a Warrick County town on edge, and three schools on lockdown. Investigators say they believe the female victim in last week's reported attempted robbery in Lynnville, made the whole thing up. The sheriff says not only was it a false report but it used a lot of resources.
It's a story investigators say didn't add up. A story that continues to change. Last week, Warrick County deputies say 31-year-old Jaimee Barrett told them a man demanded money and tried to steal her truck, but ended up pinning her against the garage with it at her Lynnville home. Authorities brought in K-9's but never picked up a track and they did not find any footprints in the snow.
"We did everything we could that morning to try and locate a suspect but after we were there for an hour, and there was absolutely no sign of a suspect and there were some holes in the story that was told to us," Sheriff Brett Kruse said.
Officials say the day after the incident, Barrett told investigators no one tried to rob her. Barrett did not want to talk on camera, but Eyewitness News talked with her briefly at her front door.
"I'm suffering post traumatic stress disorder because of it and I don't want to bring up any issues. I had went into a panic attack and I did see somebody in the garage, but I panicked and I blacked out," Jaimee Barrett said.
Barrett says she does not remember everything that happened. Neighbors say they were nervous about the reported crime and the suspect who was on the loose. A suspect who never even existed.
"The first time in six years I've lived in that house I locked my truck and took my keys inside so, in summer time, you leave your windows down keys in it. It can be running and no one will take it. Nothing ever happens here. We don't have a town cop, that's how calm it is around here," Dale Bourland said.
Sheriff Kruse says this made-up crime tied up a lot of resources. He says 15 officers from three different agencies responded to the incident, a deputy crashed his patrol car on the way to the scene, and three Warrick County schools were put on lockdown. The Warrick County Sheriff's Office says its filing charges with the Warrick County Prosecutors Office against Barrett for false reporting, a misdemeanor.
Sheriff Kruse says they've investigated false reporting cases in the past, but this is the most serious case they've had in awhile.
It's a story investigators say didn't add up. A story that continues to change. Last week, Warrick County deputies say 31-year-old Jaimee Barrett told them a man demanded money and tried to steal her truck, but ended up pinning her against the garage with it at her Lynnville home. Authorities brought in K-9's but never picked up a track and they did not find any footprints in the snow.
"We did everything we could that morning to try and locate a suspect but after we were there for an hour, and there was absolutely no sign of a suspect and there were some holes in the story that was told to us," Sheriff Brett Kruse said.
Officials say the day after the incident, Barrett told investigators no one tried to rob her. Barrett did not want to talk on camera, but Eyewitness News talked with her briefly at her front door.
"I'm suffering post traumatic stress disorder because of it and I don't want to bring up any issues. I had went into a panic attack and I did see somebody in the garage, but I panicked and I blacked out," Jaimee Barrett said.
Barrett says she does not remember everything that happened. Neighbors say they were nervous about the reported crime and the suspect who was on the loose. A suspect who never even existed.
"The first time in six years I've lived in that house I locked my truck and took my keys inside so, in summer time, you leave your windows down keys in it. It can be running and no one will take it. Nothing ever happens here. We don't have a town cop, that's how calm it is around here," Dale Bourland said.
Sheriff Kruse says this made-up crime tied up a lot of resources. He says 15 officers from three different agencies responded to the incident, a deputy crashed his patrol car on the way to the scene, and three Warrick County schools were put on lockdown. The Warrick County Sheriff's Office says its filing charges with the Warrick County Prosecutors Office against Barrett for false reporting, a misdemeanor.
Sheriff Kruse says they've investigated false reporting cases in the past, but this is the most serious case they've had in awhile.
