Probationer arrested and charged with filing false report

Investigators are telling Historic City News that in order to avoid an appointment with her probation officer, a local woman concocted a detailed, horrific story that sent deputies on a wild goose chase in search of an assailant they now believe never existed.

The probationer, 34-year-old Heather Alene Johnson, called for help at her former residence on Lobelia Road on June 8, 2014, according to Sheriff’s spokesman, Kevin Kelshaw.

“She told responding deputies that she was violently attacked inside her residence,” Kelshaw told local reporters. “She gave details of how she was strangled with a dog leash, cut with a knife, and cut with a box cutter.”

Kelshaw says that Johnson fabricated the story and the investigation revealed the allegations were likely untrue.

“This conclusion was reached by comparing the evidence to the allegations and the statement of a witness who came forward to provide details about the violent story,” Kelshaw reported.

Johnson was arrested this morning and charged with filing a false police report; a first-degree misdemeanor. She was booked into the St Johns County Jail and was released after posting $1,000 bond.