James Turner
Staff writer
[email protected]
A Murray State student is being charged with falsely reporting an incident, after he reported a false robbery to the Murray State Police on Sunday, Oct. 7.
Captain Roy Dunaway said student Charles Patrick Vaught, freshman from Bremen, Kentucky, admitted that the robbery did not happen after being re-interviewed.
Dunaway said such incidents are not uncommon.
“Citizens make false reports to police more frequently than one would think,” Dunaway said.
According to the RacerAlert emails sent out to the University community, a student was reportedly robbed in the Roy Stewart Stadium parking lot. The suspect was reported to be a male in dark clothing with a pocket knife.
Dunaway said after Murray State Police conducted a thorough investigation, a timeline showed inconsistencies in the initial report. When they went to Vaught for clarification, the student admitted the robbery did not happen.
In addition to the charges, Director of Communications Shawn Touney said Vaught may also face consequences from Murray State.
“The incident is categorized as a violation of the student code of conduct,” Touney said. “Per the student conduct process, he will have to meet with a representative of the office of Student Affairs to determine any possible disciplinary actions.”
Mackenzie Stearsman, sophomore from Fordsville, Kentucky, said she was in White College at the time of the incident. The initial alerts worried her for her friend’s safety who had a night class around the same time as the incident.
The next day police said the robbery was falsely reported.
“I don’t know why someone would do that except for attention,” Stearsman said.
Sydney Kessler, freshman from Louisville, Kentucky, said she was in a friend’s dorm but was at the stadium an hour before. She didn’t live in the same building, and was a little apprehensive about walking back even with friends.
“Why would you report a robbery if it’s not true?” Kessler said. “I was just thinking that would send a lot of uneasiness on campus.”
Despite the false report, the Murray State Police Department continues to take campus safety seriously.
Dunaway said resources, like the LiveSafe app, emergency call boxes and Racer Patrol safety escorts are available to anyone in trouble or who feels endangered.
Stearsman echoed these resources, and she said she has the LiveSafe app.
“If someone feels uncomfortable walking on campus the MSUPD is really reliable,” she said. “They would have no problem staying on the phone or even just walking somewhere.”
