A 22-year-old woman is likely to face False Reporting charges after a series of bomb threats at a university. The young woman reportedly called in bomb threats to avoid attending her college graduation. Why? Because her mother had been doling out thousands of dollars for her child’s education, and the young woman hadn’t been attending classes. Oops. This is common throughout Fort Collins, Loveland and Estes Park: Crimes are often committed or alleged to try to cover up wrongdoings. Unfortunately, now the woman will face criminal charges. She will most likely be charged with False Reporting – C.R.S. 18-8-111. Let’s dig deeper into the aspects of this crime to understand it better.
What is False Reporting?
A person will face False Reporting charges in Larimer (Colorado State University), Boulder (University of Colorado), and Weld (University of Northern Colorado)County if they knowingly:
- Activate a false fire alarm or other emergency alarm
- Transmit a false alarm to an emergency service
- Prevent a legitimate fire alarm from activating
- Make a false report to law enforcement about a crime they know didn’t occur
- Make a report to law enforcement pretending to furnish information when they know it is false
- Provides false identification to authorities
False Reporting charges usually result in a class 3 misdemeanor (which carries a possible jail sentence of up to 6 months), but in some cases it is raised to a class 2 misdemeanor (which carries a possible jail sentence of up to 1 year). Even a misdemeanor on your record is damaging. You could have a difficult time finding a job or getting housing. Don’t ignore charges against you – fight them to protect your future.
[pullquote align=”center” textalign=”center” width=”70%”]Criminal charges tend to pile up. Don’t cover your tracks to try to avoid charges.[/pullquote]Don’t Let Charges Pile Up: Hire an Attorney and Deal with the Charges
The young woman attempting to throw her mother off her scent by calling in bomb threats will now face criminal charges for her actions. If she had simply come clean, she may have escaped without permanent consequences on her future. Her mother most likely wouldn’t have pressed charges for the theft of the money for college (and even if she had, she would have only dealt with Theft charges, and not both). As an experienced criminal defense attorney, I have seen first-hand the importance of dealing with criminal charges as they come, and not letting more pile up. A criminal act done to cover up a wrongdoing will only result in harsher consequences. If you are being investigated for a crime, be smart and contact a skilled criminal defense lawyer who can fight the charges – DON’T try to cover your tracks and avoid the charges against you.