Crime & Safety

Faked Robbery At Wal-Mart Leads To Real Arrest, Jail

A Pierce County man wanted police to come to him quickly, so he faked a robbery.

SPANAWAY, WA - Sure, Wal-Mart parking lots are big, but this is crazy. A man lost his car in the parking lot of the Spanaway Wal-Mart Sunday, so he called police to come help him find it.

But - and it's a big but - the man told the 911 dispatcher that he had been robbed at knife point. When five Pierce County deputies showed up, the supposed victim told them he said that just to get them to "get there faster." The man told deputies his car might've been stolen.

"He also told the deputies that he had provided a description of what the suspect looked like 'so it would sound more real,'" the sheriff's office reported.

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Instead of booking someone for armed robbery that night, they ended up booking the 46-year-old for false reporting. He was taken to the Pierce County Jail, which at least has a smaller parking lot than Wal-Mart.

Image via David Zalubowski/Associated Press

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