On Sunday, a Queens man was arrested after he claimed that a seven-year old boy with Down syndrome was riding in the backseat of his stolen Ford Mustang.
James Reyes (33), filed the false police report after his Mustang was taken. This was so that officials could ‘find it quicker’, police said.
After being searched by police, Reyes admitted that he had been lying.
James Reyes, a 33 year-old Queens resident, was charged for filing a false police reporting after he claimed that a seven year-old boy with Down Syndrome was in the back seat of his stolen red Ford Mustang Mustang so it could be found faster’
According to police, he reported the car as stolen at 6 p.m. Sunday at 202nd Street in Hollis and 104th Avenue.
According to police, the red Mustang was sitting and running in a driveway of an abandoned house at the time it was taken.
Police searched the vehicle for four hours after Reyes claimed that the boy was inside. The car was found abandoned near Jamaica Avenue and 197th Street, just a half mile from the spot where it was stolen.
The vehicle was reported as being stolen at the intersection between 202nd Street, 104th Avenue in Queens.
Police took a 17-year-old suspect in car theft into custody around 10.30pm.
When asked about the Down syndrome boy, he said he didn’t know what they were talking of. He was released to his family and no charges were brought against him.
Officials said that Reyes later confessed to lying about the boy to police officers during questioning.
He was charged with false reporting and was issued a ticket for appearing in court. He is due in court on November 21.