GREELEY, Colo. — Police say a Colorado man who claimed he was robbed at gunpoint by Hispanic men after he stopped to help a woman with a young child lied about the ordeal, according to KDVR.
Neal Hefty said that on Dec. 29, he pulled over to help a woman who was having car trouble. He said the woman had a baby with her. When he stopped to assist her, Hefty said a group of men robbed him, stealing his groceries and “Patch,” his 10-week-old puppy.
Hefty claimed the men who robbed him were Hispanic and left the scene in a car with license plates from Mexico.
KDVR interviewed Hefty on Sunday. Before doing so, police confirmed that Hefty had filed a report and a detective was investigating the case.
On Thursday, Greeley police said Hefty’s report was false. Investigators do not believe there is a puppy at all. In fact, investigators say he got the picture of the dog from an internet story from May 2018.
“The Greeley Police Department detectives investigating this case were able to develop information and evidence that this incident did not happen as reported, and that there was actually no puppy or firearms involved in this report,” GPD said in a statement. “At the conclusion of the investigation it was determined that there was never an armed robbery and no loss of property.”
Police have issued a summons for Hefty to appear in Weld County Court on charges for false reporting to authorities, which is a class-3 misdemeanor.
