Aurora police have secured felony charges through the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office on two Aurora residents accused of filing false police reports. Ironically, both people were bystanders to sales of marijuana and also said their cell phones had something to do with the stories they concocted.

Charged with single counts of felony disorderly conduct are Crystal M. Moran, 38, of the 300 block of Old Indian Trail Road and a 16-year-old male juvenile from Aurora.

“These charges should serve as warnings to other people who may think they can get away with filing false police reports that we will hold them accountable,” said Chief of Police Kristen Ziman. “We expended an inordinate amount of resources on these cases that could have been better spent achieving justice for victims of actual crimes.”

On May 1, Moran filed a report with the Aurora Police saying she was the victim of an armed robbery earlier in the day and that her cell phone and $600 in cash were stolen at gunpoint by a man at an apartment complex in the 2000 block of West Illinois Avenue. When detectives looked into her claims and discovered they weren’t adding up, they re-interviewed her.

It turns out she had actually gone to the apartment complex with a male friend and gave him her cell phone. The friend then went to a fifth floor apartment to sell drugs to a resident that lived there. It was during the drug transaction that Moran’s friend was robbed by the resident and her cell phone taken. She indicated by making up the story, she hoped Aurora police could get her cell phone back. A warrant was issued for Moran’s arrest on May 31. Police are continuing to investigate the actual robbery and are expecting Moran to turn herself in.

The 16-year-old was charged after claiming he and a 15-year-old friend were robbed at gunpoint by several teens as they walked through a parking lot at about 1:15 a.m. May 30 in the first block of North Smith Street. During the investigation, the boy also furnished the names of the supposed robbery suspects to police. After detectives talked with both the boy’s friend and the supposed suspects involved, it was learned the “robbery” actually involved the suspects stealing marijuana from the boy’s friend which the 16-year-old witnessed.

Not only did he fabricate the robbery story to retaliate against the teens who stole the marijuana but it was also found he never owned the cell phone he said was stolen. Another motivating factor in making up the robbery, according to the boy, was that by reporting it stolen, he hoped he would be able to gain a better cell phone than the one he did own. He was taken to the Kane County Youth Home after being charged June 7.

SOURCE: Aurora Police Department