A Doylestown resident is facing charges after he called police to report a carjacking that he said involved Bradley Stone at the height of the manhunt for the former-marine who went on a shooting spree earlier that day -- killing his ex-wife and five of her family members -- in Montgomery County.
Luke Sanderlin, 34, made a call to police late Monday and told them that an armed Bradley Stone ran up to him while he was walking his dog near the Stonington Farm Apartment Complex and demanded his car keys, according to officials. Sanderlin allegedly told police he pulled a gun on Stone and scared him into the woods.
Stone, who was being pursued after he allegedly went on a violent spree killing his ex, Nichole Hill Stone, her mother, grandmother, sister, brother-in-law and niece. He also injured Anthony Flick, Stone Hill's 17-year-old nephew, said investigators.
The false report resulted in the lockdown of the apartment complex, but also the Central Bucks YMCA and Central Bucks West High School. Police from three counties spent four hours combing Doylestown before determining that Stone was not in the area -- wasting resources and taxpayer money, said Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler.
"We are still counting the costs in taxpayers' dollars wasted by Mr. Sanderlin," said Heckler.
Sanderlin is charged with risking catastrophe, reckless endangerment, false alarms and false reports. He's being held on $25,000 cash bail.
"Because Sanderlin's false report came in the midst of the manhunt for a dangerous and unpredictable killer, this hoax had the effect of diverting important resources which should have been devoted to protecting the public from a real threat, not a phony one."
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Sanderlin reported the fake carjacking to raise money for treatment for an allegedly disease, said police.
Bradley Stone was found dead the following day in the woods near his Pennsburg home.
