PORT ANGELES — Charges will not be filed against a Sequim woman who falsely reported that a homicide had occurred in a central Port Angeles neighborhood.
Deputy Port Angeles Police Chief Brian Smith said Tuesday that police do not plan to pursue charges against the woman because she appeared to be mentally disabled.
At about 5 p.m. Monday, the Port Angeles Police Department received a call from a Sequim woman saying a homicide had occurred in a house on Georgiana Street just east of downtown Port Angeles and that an armed individual was still in the residence, Smith said in an email.
She said she was concerned for family members.
After being unable to determine if the call was credible over the phone, Port Angeles police secured the area around the home.
Sequim police officers spoke with the woman who had filed the report, Smith said.
Sequim police told Port Angeles officers that she was not credible and that the report was not based on fact.
Sequim Police Chief Bill Dickinson said the Sequim resident did not appear to be maliciously reporting a false homicide but might have confused family members she has in California with those she has in Port Angeles.
Smith said the Port Angeles Police Department followed its protocol based on the possibility of a murder and told residents living near the Georgiana Street home to stay inside until the all-clear was given about 45 minutes later.
Dickinson said the woman’s report was forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agency in Concord, Calif., which lies about 30 miles east of San Francisco.
A representative from the Concord Police Department said no homicides had been reported over the past few days in the city.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
