Man Fakes Kidnapping to Avoid Angering Girlfriend, Faces Charges From NYPD
A Brooklyn man was arrested after faking a kidnapping to avoid dealing with an angry girlfriend. Rahmell Pettway, 36, is a career criminal that police say confessed to lying about the kidnapping and will remain in custody for some time.
Pettway was found sitting between two parked cars in Harlem, with his mouth, hands and feet all covered in duct tape. Police were initially concerned about his health, given that he appeared to have been beaten up. They took him to the Woodhull Hospital for treatment, and Pettway began to spin his story.
"The officers were asking him, 'Are you OK? Are you OK?'" Lisa, an eyewitness, told The New York Post. She saw the entire incident and was disgusted once the truth was revealed.
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Pettway said that two men had taken him hostage on Feb. 19 in Brooklyn and just now released him. Police were a bit suspicious when they noticed that an entire roll of duct tape was dangling from his wrists.
"He's a total moron," a law-enforcement source told The Post. "It was a pathetic attempt to pull the wool over her eyes."
Pettway eventually confessed that he had been away from his girlfriend for a couple of weeks and never explained his absence to her. He was afraid of facing his girlfriend and making her angry, so he concocted the entire scheme.
"That's something very sick. Just be a man and face the consequence," eyewitness Lisa said.
As it turns out, Pettway has a history of arrests for robbery, marijuana and assault. Now he can add filing a false police report to his resume. It wasn't clear whether Pettway is still in police custody.
For the most part, the public has laughed off the elaborate hoax, stating that Pettway still has a lot of explaining to do.
"Maybe the wrath of his girlfriend was worse than the penalty for filing a false report?" Steve Yuhas posted on CBS.com.
