Police: Reported Carjacking a Drug Deal

from missoulian

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (AP) -- A man who reported he was carjacked cooked up his story after he later regretted selling his car to a teenager in exchange for a $150 bag of cocaine, police said.

Neal Stevenson, 21, told police Thursday evening the car was taken from him by force at the Fort Henry Mall.

But police found the 1999 Honda Accord being driven the next day and tracked it to a 16-year-old boy who told officers that Stevenson sold him the car for drugs - and produced the title signed by Stevenson.

"While at the mall he later felt like he got ripped off and came up with the story that he was a victim of a carjacking," Detective Lt. Ralph Cline said. "I would assume his high started leaving him ... he got mad and felt he got ripped off."

Stevenson was arrested on a charge of filing a false police report. The teenager, who was not identified, faces a runaway charge and new drug charges related to items found when he was questioned by police.

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Information from: Kingsport Times-News, http://www.timesnews.net