PUEBLO — A Pueblo man has been arrested after falsely reporting a kidnapping which triggered an AMBER Alert Wednesday, according to the Pueblo Police Department.
According to arrest papers, Daniel Reyes admitted to using police and the AMBER Alert to find his stolen truck faster. He is facing a charge of attempting to influence a public servant, which is a felony.
Court documents said the 34-year-old admitted the name he gave police was a relative but the photo was a different person he knew.
"Obviously, there is some frustration with that, because again, there are people in our community that really have real emergencies that we should be attending," said the Pueblo Police Department's captain of criminal investigation division, Dustin Taylor.
Captain Taylor said the resources and personnel used for this amber alert cost thousands of dollars.
PREVIOUSLY REPORTED:
On Wednesday just before 9:00 p.m., the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued an AMBER Alert for 13-year-old Sandra Mendoza of Pueblo.
According to investigators at the time, earlier that evening, Daniel Reyes reported that Sandra, "his cousin" was in the back of a vehicle that was stolen out of an area located near Mountain View Cemetery.
"What really tips this off to be more of an emergent situation is if there's information that one that they're in serious risk of being injured or killed," said Captain Taylor.
Investigators were able to locate the stolen truck that Sandra was allegedly in, but she was nowhere to be found.
"We weren't able to disprove it at that time, so we have to take at face value that there was probably a child in the truck that was missing," said Captain Taylor.
Police confirmed to News5 that Reyes claimed to police that Sandra was his cousin at the time of reporting the kidnapping and stolen vehicle. Information reported to detectives nearly four hours after the search for Sandra began confirmed that Sandra had no relation to Reyes and that Sandra was safely located at home.
In a court hearing Thursday, it was revealed that Reyes has two children and is a student at Pueblo Community College (PCC).
Reyes was booked into the Pueblo County Jail, but he has been released on a $10,000 PR bond. Reyes is scheduled to be back in court next Thursday.
Pueblo Police Chief Chris Noeller released the following statement regarding this incident:
“While working an armed, barricaded suspect incident on the north side of town, the men and women in dispatch and of our department, other responding agencies, and community members displayed the highest degree of teamwork, tenacity, and dedication to locate the reported kidnapping victim. False reporting wastes countless hours of manpower and resources, not only in our community, but also in the surrounding areas limiting law enforcement’s ability to respond to additional needs. Our department is thankful the juvenile was safe in this incident.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as we learn more.
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