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A Troy man who told police he was carjacked while his 7-month-old child was in the vehicle has been charged after investigators determined his story was not accurate, the Detroit Police Department said.
Stephen Tryban was charged with a false report of a felony after determined no carjacking took place.
The original incident took place July 10, when Tryban reported being carjacked around noon near Glenwood and Chalmers streets while the infant was inside his Cadillac SUV.
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Police initially said the father was driving the SUV with the baby in the back seat when the suspect approached the vehicle and pulled him out.
Police launched a large search and found the infant safe about an hour later inside the stolen vehicle, which had been abandoned in a garage about one mile away.
The child was evaluated at a hospital and safely reunited with family.
Investigators conducted follow-up interviews the day after the incident and learned Tryban had stopped his vehicle to talk with a woman he knew, police said.
While he was on the woman’s porch, another person got into Tryban’s vehicle and drove away with the baby still inside.
Police said the incident did not constitute a carjacking because the vehicle was left unattended before it was stolen.
Detectives submitted findings to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, which authorized the false report charge, police said.
“The Detroit Police Department wants the public to know that charges can be filed against you if you are untruthful about the circumstances of a crime,” the department said, noting such claims can trigger unnecessary emergency responses and divert resources from other calls for service.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Detroit Police Department’s Commercial Auto Theft Section at 313-596-2555.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Troy man charged after lying about baby carjacking
