A Desert Hot Springs women is out on bail Sunday after being arrested for filing a false police report, deputies said.
On Friday, August 20th, the Palm Desert Riverside County Sheriff’s Station responded to a report of a young girl who was a victim of child neglect and sexual assault at the Palm Desert Costco.
Unsatisfied with the alleged result of the Riverside County Sheriff’s departments handling of the investigation, Angelic Mendes, 23 of Desert Hot Springs, posted the same claims on to social media. The post went viral on several social media platforms and cause significant outrage according and sparked numerous calls to the RSO dispatch center, city and county officials.
According to investigators, the allegations of neglect and abuse lead to hundreds of staff-hours from several law enforcement agencies in both California and Arizona. These investigations included four independent investigations which were fully staffed and tracking accordingly.
“There were four independent investigations related to this incident. All four of the independent investigations concluded the allegations were false,” investigators said in a press release. “It appears the reporting person had seemingly made up the allegations and had no supporting evidence to substantiate her claims. Her claims, both to law enforcement and publicly had numerous inconsistencies.”
Deputies say the calls hindered offering emergency services for other citizens who were in need.
“The Sheriff’s Department would also like to explain that if this were a legitimate criminal incident, the frivolous aspects and misinformation would have hindered the investigation and ultimately the welfare of the child. Not to mention the adverse effect on any future prosecution efforts,” RSO said in a press release.
The Sheriff’s department also wanted to remind the public that not everything posted and reported on social media is true and can be misleading.
The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office found it to have probable cause that a crime had been committed by Mendez, and issued an arrest warrant Friday.
Mendez was arrested Saturday, August 28, for providing false information to a police officer and knowingly filing a false police report.
She posted $25 for bail and was released hours after her arrest.
Her next court date is scheduled for December 1, 2021.
