Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Richmond prank - not a felony?

Where in the world did the Northwest Herald get "felony" for the prank of the 11-year-old girl who left a note in a Richmond bank that she had been kidnapped in 2009???

The Richmond (Ill.) Police Department advises in a press release that the girl was charged with Disorderly Conduct. That's a far cry from a felony. Northwest Herald articles on September 7 and September 8 used the word "felony" for the charge against the unidentified girl, basing its reporting on a statement by a Richmond PD detective to the reporter that the girl was charged with "aggravated disorderly conduct, a Class 4 felony.

Following is the press release received from the Richmond Police Department this morning:

"McHenry Savings Bank located at 10520 Main St. Richmond, IL reported to the Richmond Police department that on 8/11/2010 one of their customers had found a note written on a money order slip, bearing a message of a questionable nature.

"The bank reported that the note was a handwritten request stating that the writer had been kidnapped and missing since 2009 and for someone to notify authorities. Following an in depth investigation by Detective Pamela Hewett of the Richmond Police Department it was determined that the note was written by an 11 year old juvenile female as a hoax. The juvenile was located living safely with her biological father in Harvard, IL.

"The juvenile was later taken into custody and charged with Disorderly Conduct. The juvenile was station adjusted by a juvenile officer and will perform community service reporting to the juvenile officer who will also work with the parents and any social services."

(See following article.)

1 comment:

Zane said...

Gus, are you saying that the Northwest Herald did a story and the information they provided was not accurate?

I find that hard to believe.

I get all my news from the NWH because of the integrity and professionalism they disply with every story and editorial.

The NWH is head and shoulders above any local media source and I dare to say they rival even the major Chicago and national papers.

I have personally spoke with 3 members of that organization and they are three of the finest..."ouch"..."what the"....for some reason I feel like my pants are about to burst into flames.