Bizarre Crime at Martinsburg Walmart Blamed on Gambling

On Friday July 16 2010 police responded to the Walmart on Foxcroft Ave in Martinsburg, WV on a reported robbery that had occurred in the parking lot. Officers arrived  minutes after the incident had allegedly occurred and proceeded to search the area and obtain surveillance video from the store.

The alleged robbery victim, identified as Mr. William Arthur Leland, told the responding officers that he had been sitting in his vehicle in the Walmart parking lot when a white male brandished a revolver in his face and demanded $800 cash. He told police that he turned the money over to the man, who then fled towards the nearby Sears store.

Upon subsequent review of surveillance video, police found no evidence of a robbery taking place.

Mr. Leland was brought into the Martinsburg Police Department for questioning on July 26th, at which time he confessed to calling in a false police report. He told investigators that the money, which was allegedly taken from him at gunpoint, was a combination of his money and his physically handicapped sister’s money, whom Mr Leland cares for. Mr Leland further confessed that he had lost all of the money gambling at a local gambling establishment. Apparently facing the prospect of confessing his gambling losses, Mr Leland chose to fabricate the armed robbery story as a cover.

Mr. Leland was arrested that day and charged with falsely reporting an emergency incident. He was arraigned by Mag. R. Smith and given a PR bond of $2500.

via Bizarre Crime at Local Walmart Blamed on Gambling – Clarke Daily News.

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Posted by admin on Aug 10 2010. Filed under Winchester News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.