Two Arrested for False Report Claims

Two False-Report Cases

Mount Pleasant police have arrested two suspects over the last two weeks for filing false reports and claimed to be crime victims.

Matthew Nathan Lattanzio, 23, and Cayton Dare Tweedy, 17, face false report charges for two separate and unrelated incidents, police reports indicate.

Lattanzio, on Oct. 3, told police he was robbed by four men as he walked along Anna Knapp Boulevard, a preliminary report stated. He first told officers that the suspects took $980 in cash that was meant to pay his rent.

Later, he came to the police department and confessed that he was facing financial hardships because a family member has cancer and he has been paying for medical expenses. He admitted he made up the whole story.

On Oct. 10, police received a report of a robbery at the Proprietors Place Walmart, according to a department news release. Tweedy told police that a man with a knife outside the store demanded money and her checkbook.

Officers launched an investigation immediately, but then discovered inconsistencies, the news release stated. After further investigation, officers dropped their investigation of the robbery and charged Tweedy with filing a false report.

Befriending a Burglar?

A Mount Pleasant woman told police a puzzling story of being attacked by two men who were breaking into her car, but following the attack she invited them into her home for a adult beverage, a report said.

Police ultimately ruled the incident as unfounded, but the 23-year-old had wounds on her legs that appeared severe enough to warrant medical attention, the officer wrote in an incident report.

The woman refused medical treatment and did not want to assist officers in any criminal investigation. Police noted that the victim had a large sum of cash and valuable electronics in her home, but none of those items were taken while the purported burglars were inside the residence.

Police took photos of the woman’s wounds in case she became more cooperative.

Pot-pourri Appears in Mount Pleasant

Pot-pourri is a new synthetic drug that’s catching on across the country and raising concerns about the technically legal but dangerous substance.

On Oct. 11, Mount Pleasant police arrested a teenage girl for possession of trace amounts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to a report. She also had pot-pourri, the synthetic marijuana-like substance.

Officers received tips from Wando High School students that the young woman was using the illicit substances and had them in her possession at the school, the report states.

Pot-pourri is called K2, spice or “scary spice.” Users like the substance because it’s so new, many states haven’t yet outlawed the drug. On top of that, it doesn’t show up on drug screens, but it does produce highs similar to marijuana.

Some users, however, say the drug has negative side effects and health complications.

Man Hits Cyclist, Flees Scene

A 20-year-old Mount Pleasant man faces hit-and-run charges after police allege he struck a cyclist with his car and left the injured 46-year-old man on the side of Highway 17.

Police have arrested and charged Jonathan Andrew Temple with leaving the scene of an accident with injuries, the report said.

Temple is accused of hitting the cyclist and then continuing to drive several miles. A bystander told police Temple got out of his vehicle several miles later, inspected his vehicle for damage and then continued home.

The bystander, however, wrote down Temple’s license plate information. Police traced the plate to a Park West apartment. Temple told police he thought he hit something, but when he got out to inspect his 2007 Honda Fit, he didn’t notice any damage.

Police wrote that they could clearly see damage to the front of the car. Temple was arrested and booked into the Charleston County Jail.