April Fool Attempt Earns Jokester a Citation

Modesto, CA – Modesto Police patrol officers, traffic officers, and detectives, along with several Stanislaus Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a reported take-over style bank robbery, that ended up being an April Fool’s joke that went wrong.

At 10:21 A.M. the Modesto Police responded to a report of a robbery in progress at the Bank of America, 3401 Dale Road. 9-1-1 dispatchers were told that a man had just received a phone call from his daughter, who said “everyone was down on the ground and that the bank was being robbed.” Patrol officers, Traffic Officers, School Police Officers, Detectives, Sergeants, and deputies from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department all responded to the reported crime. As the officers were making their approach to the bank, preparing for a dangerous encounter, it was learned that the report was an April fool’s joke that went wrong.

Information in the investigation revealed that a 27-year-old, from Riverbank, had called her father on her cell phone, whispering into the phone as if she was inside the bank, reporting the bank was being robbed. The woman told her father that she was inside the bank, laying on the floor and that the robbers were armed. The woman was convincing, because her father called 9-1-1 before he could learn that the call was a joke.

Officers finally learned that the call was all a hoax and had located the woman outside the bank. “She was very remorseful, but she was also a good actor,” said Sergeant Al Brocchini who was the supervisor on scene at the bank. Fortunately, nobody was injured during the response to the incident. The woman was cited for creating a false police emergency and released at the scene.

For information about this news release, contact police spokesperson Lieutenant Chris Fuzie at (209) 652-1853.