When Port Chester police officers answered an emergency call on Leonard Street Thursday afternoon they found a 21-year-old woman tied at the hand and foot to her 3-year-old daughter, with the woman telling about an attack in her home that left her unconscious.
But Lt. James Ladeairous said details of the story being told by Leonela Garcia of 52 Leonard St. did seem to add up. After being interviewed by investigators trying to get to the bottom of the incident, Ladeairous said the young woman admitted the incident was a hoax.
As a result, Garcia has been charged with third-degree falsely reporting a crime, a misdemeanor, and she faces a hearing next week in Port Chester Village Court.
Ladeairous said Garcia told police she staged the incident to get her boyfriend's attention.
The incident started when police received an emergency call about 1:20 p.m. on Thursday, with Garcia reporting an attack. When village police officers entered 52 Leonard St. through a rear door they discovered Garcia and her daughter tied up with what looked like brown shoelaces, connecting their hands and feet.
Ladeairous said the woman then started telling police officers she was sitting at her computer when she felt someone put something across her face from behind and then lost consciousness. She told police that when she work up after about 30 minutes she found herself bound with her daughter.
The child was not injured in the incident.
