Charges filed against restaurant worker for falsely reporting abduction claim

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette

LECHIA LEWIS

Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, 12:05 p.m. — Bardstown Police have filed charges against the Cracker Barrel employee who told police she was the victim of an attempted abduction on Jan. 12, 2013 in the restaurant’s parking lot.

Lechia Lewis, 50, aka Lechia Smaagaard and Lechia Dennis, of Bardstown, was served Thursday with an arrest warrant charging her with falsely reporting an incident to police in connection with the alleged abduction attempt. She was served at the Nelson County Jail where she is being held on unrelated charges. She is also being held as a wanted person on charges in South Carolina.’

During the police department’s investigation of the alleged abduction attempt, their investigation revealed inconsistencies in Lewis’ story. Once the complete security video was made available to investigators, they determined Lewis’ story did not match the videotape.

The video showed Lewis actually left the restaurant parking lot 15 minutes before the white van that she claimed was occupied by a male subject she accused of trying to abduct her. The video showed the white van was driving by a woman and had no male occupants.

A police press release noted that the agency fully investigates and prosecutes these cases. “We also want our community to know we will not tolerate false allegations and claims as they waste valuable man hours and resources,” the statement said.

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