A Salvation Army Thrift Store employee told police he falsely reported an armed robbery last week because he thought he would be blamed for money missing from the store, according to court documents.
Police say John Arick, 42, of Marietta, told police that he discovered the money, about $100, missing when he came into work on Aug. 12.
"He stated that he thought he would be accused of stealing the money so he decided to report an armed robbery," Marietta police Detective Troy Hawkins wrote in his affidavit.
Arick appeared Wednesday morning in Marietta Municipal Court. He did not enter a plea, but asked for the assistance of the Washington County Public Defender's Office.
"I believe I would qualify for their services," he said.
Municipal Court Judge Janet Dyar-Welch ordered the arraignment continued to 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25.
Arick was charged Tuesday with a third-degree felony count of tampering with evidence and a misdemeanor count of falsification.
According to police, Arick called 911 around 8:30 a.m. and reported a man with a knife and a gun entered the business and robbed him. Arick also claimed he had been cut during a struggle over the missing money.
"(During a Monday interview, Arick) stated the cuts on his face had been received at home on an earlier date and that he had scratched (himself) in order to make them bleed," the affidavit says.
The reported robbery led officers from several agencies, with the assistance of a bloodhound, to search the downtown area for a suspect. Also, city police notified area residents and businesses of the incident via a public alert telephone system.
According to court documents, 1,379 phone calls were placed through the city's rapid notify system to warn the public of the armed suspect, which resulted in lockdowns at Marietta College, the Betsey Mills Club, the Marietta Family YMCA and Ely Chapman Education Foundation.
Hawkins said earlier this week that additional charges of inducing panic also would be filed. He said before the charge could be levied, police needed to add up the amount of man hours lost because of the false report. If the total loss exceeds $500, the charge is likely to be a felony. The greater the loss, the more serious the felony, he said.
The felony charge of tampering with evidence is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Hawkins could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but said earlier this week that the missing money had not been recovered and that police were still looking into the possibility that there may have been more than one person involved.
As of Wednesday afternoon, there had been no other arrests in the case.
Arick remains free on a personal recognizance bond.
