False Joliet Police Report Leads To Incarceration: Complaint

JOLIET, IL - When someone calls the Joliet Police Department, emergency dispatchers and police officers spring into action to respond and investigate the call for service as quickly as possible. But, there are also harsh consequences when someone tries to dupe the police by making a false report. This month, the Will County State's Attorney's Office charged a 25-year-old Crest Hill man, Kerry Devon Smith, with disorderly conduct and false report of a vehicle theft.

Joliet Police officers put Smith in handcuffs and delivered him to the Will County Jail on the morning of June 18. Smith's bail was set at $30,000 and he doesn't have the necessary $3,000 to post as bond.

According to the criminal complaint, Smith "knowingly transmitted to … Brad Southard, a peace officer with the Joliet Police Department, a report to the effect that an offense had been committed, in that he made a report of the theft of a Hyundai Santa Fe …. knowing at the time of such transmission that there was no reasonable ground for believing such offense was committed."

The date of the crime was June 18, the complaint states.