ARREST MADE IN FALSE WEST CAMPUS STABBING CLAIM
West Campus tale of assailant a cover-up for self-injury, police say.
An Austin man who police believe fabricated a story about a knife assault on West Campus just hours after a fatal stabbing attack that left one dead and three injured near Gregory Gym on the University of Texas campus Monday has been charged and jailed.
Lewis Yarbrough, 20, was booked into the Travis County Jail on Thursday on a charge of filing a false report to a police officer or law enforcement employee. The charge is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 and up to 180 days in jail.
Yarbrough initially filed a report with Austin police on Monday after he was admitted to an area hospital with a wound on his leg, police said.
He first told officers that he sustained the wound when he confronted a knife-wielding man who was threatening a woman in the West Campus area.
Austin interim Police Chief Brian Manley said Yarbrough later told investigators that he made up the story after considering the cost of the medical bills he was about to incur.
Yarbrough told police he had actually accidentally cut himself while playing with a knife, Manley said.
Yarbrough’s bail has been set at $2,000, according to jail records.
The America-Statesman had reached out to Yarbrough on Facebook after he was identified in an online police report as a victim before officers decided his assault story was fake.
Yarbrough had said he was flattered that reporters thought he was the “hero” involved in the incident, but he said it wasn’t him and that reporters had “false information.”
His Facebook page was deleted the same day.