Fulton man charged after allegedly giving fake story about injured baby to police
FULTON, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Fulton man was arrested and charged on Tuesday after allegedly lying about a baby being severely injured.
Ryan Avery Knapp, 23, was charged with felony first-degree property damage and making a false report to police, a misdemeanor. He was booked into the Callaway County Jail at 4:41 a.m. Tuesday and is being held without bond. A court date has not been set.
According to the probable cause statement, Knapp allegedly called police before midnight, saying a mother hit an 8-month-old baby, causing the baby to be pushed off a couch and suffer a severe head wound.
Knapp allegedly told police that he did not know where the incident occurred or the last name of the mother. Officers had him sign a voluntary statement, stating the child was pushed off the couch with a severe injury and did not know if the child received medical attention, according to the probable cause statement.
One officer drove around with Knapp to find the residence, while four other officers also searched, the statement says. Knapp allegedly identified four different houses as the residence where the attack occurred. All residences were proven to not be the address, the statement says.
Knapp allegedly gave a phone number of the “boyfriend of the mother,” the statement says. An officer called the man, who stated the child was with the mother at a hospital, and allegedly gave the names of the mother and child. Police say in the statement that the name of the supposed mother was the name of a woman who had been in the Callaway County Jail for several weeks.
Police called four area hospitals to see if an 8-month-old baby was admitted with a head wound; none of which said a baby with that injury was admitted, according to the statement.
Knapp than called police at 2:46 a.m. to ask to talk to an officer in person. He allegedly said he was sorry and that he made the entire story up, the probable cause statement says. He was then placed under arrest.
The officer asked Knapp if he was the “boyfriend,” he spoke to and Knapp allegedly did not want to respond.
When Knapp was brought to a temporary holding cell, he allegedly began kicking a door and caused more than $750 worth of damage, according to the probable cause statement.
