Hoover, Alabama police charged Carlee Russell with two misdemeanors for filing a false police report and filing a false statement Friday. Russell could face up to one year in jail for both charges.
. She was charged with false reporting to law enforcement and falsely reporting an incident, both misdemeanors. Each charge carries a maximum one-year jail sentence and a $6,000 fine upon conviction. Russell was released on $2,000 bond.
Carlee Russell was arrested on Friday in Hoover, Alabama, after she admitted that she staged her kidnapping."I know many are shocked and appalled that Miss Russell is only being charged with two misdemeanors despite all the panic and disruption her actions caused," Derzis said during a press conference on Friday."Let me assure you, I, too, share the same frustration. But existing laws only allow the charges that were filed to be filed.
The police department presented the case to Jefferson County District Attorney Lynneice Washington, who after conferring with a circuit court, referred the case back to municipal court. Derzis said he would be contacting state legislators to urge them to examine the law and add an enhancement to the current legislation to make charges more severe for those who falsely report a kidnapping or other violent crimes. He added that the police department requested help from state Attorney General Steve Marshall because of the attention the case has garnered.
"We don't see this as a victimless crime," Marshall said during the press conference."There are significant hours spent, resources expended as a result of this investigation."
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