Police Say Man Who Allegedly Faked His Own Kidnapping Wanted 'Sympathy' From His Ex

TULSA, OK — Tulsa police have arrested a man who allegedly faked his own kidnapping and then sent a series of desperate messages to the police department on social media.

Darrius Steve Roberts was booked after officers investigated the photos that he allegedly posted to his Facebook page, portraying him bound to a chair and gagged with duct tape, and sent to Tulsa Police Department Facebook — and became suspicious that they had been staged.

“The Tulsa Police Department took hundreds of phone calls and Facebook tags and posts about the possible kidnapping and possible murder,” investigators said in a probable cause affidavit, according to Tulsa World. “Approximately 20 detectives began searching Tulsa and turning up leads as to Roberts’ whereabouts."

Officer Danny Bean said the department took Roberts’ social-media posts seriously on Thursday morning, when Roberts claimed that he was being held captive.
Police immediately began searching for Roberts.

They found him at a residence in the 2000 block of East Pine Street at around 11:30 A.M., Bean said. Roberts then allegedly jumped out of a window and attempted to run from police.

According to the authorities, when they interviewed people at the residence they allegedly admitted that they "helped Roberts tie himself up and take photos," because Roberts "wanted sympathy from a former girlfriend,” according to the affidavit.

Roberts was charged with false report of a crime and obstruction of justice complaints, according to jail records.

He was taken to the Tulsa County Jail, where he remains in custody on a $1,000 bond.

Read more: Tulsa World, International Business Times