March 28, 2020 – Washington Co., WI – Remember the reports about a carjacking in February on I41 …. and then reports about a couple days later when the Washington County Sheriff confirmed the whole thing was a hoax?
Well, according to Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis the suspect involved in that incident has now been charged.
Richard Lee Policha was formally charged this week in the carjacking hoax.
Below is the original story from March 2, 2020
March 2, 2020 – Washington Co., WI – Washington County Sheriff’s have cracked a case that initially came across Saturday as a carjacking on I41.
When this incident was initially reported to law enforcement time was of the essence to notify the public with the goal of potentially clearing the case. This urgency precipitated the news release with the information available at the time. The sheriff’s office remains committed to this level of transparency with the public to enhance the safety of our community.
As this carjacking investigation evolved the Washington County Sheriff’s Department developed several inconsistencies with the victim’s account of events. The Sheriff’s Department exhausted considerable public safety resources over the past 45 hours to investigate this case, and the victim recanted his story indicating he made up the event for financial gain.
Sheriff Martin R. Schulteis stated, “The initial information rightfully upset people to think a Good Samaritan could have been victimized like that. What is equally distressing is the sociological impact this false allegation has given individuals to help others who truly need help. The alleged victim in this case is now the suspect in an obstructing investigation.”
The Washington County Sheriff’s office would still like to thank all the individuals that contacted our office to assist with the investigation.
As of Monday, March 2, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. the suspect was not in custody.
