We couldn't make this up...

Woman Charged With Making False Report, Grand Theft

    On 5-24-2009 the Holmes County Communications Center received a 911 call from Royals Package Store in Ponce de Leon.  The cashier reported that a black male suspect had entered the store, assaulted her and fled on foot with several hundred dollars in cash.  The Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, along with units from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office and the Holmes Correctional Institution K-9 tracking team responded to the scene.  The scene was secured and a search began for the alleged suspect.  Shortly later, surveillance footage was obtained which discredited the cashier’s story.  The cashier, 40 year-old Dawn Nicholson of Defuniak Springs then confessed to stealing a large amount of money from the store over the past two nights, staging the crime scene and calling 911 to report a robbery.  A large portion of the stolen money was recovered from Nicholson.  She was placed under arrest for Falsely Reporting the Commission of a Crime and Grand Theft.  She remains in the Holmes County Jail awaiting First Appearance.  Sheriff Tim Brown would like to thank all of the responding officers for their quick response which led to the closure of this matter.