A Bremerton man is in Kitsap County Jail after allegedly falsely reporting he was attacked by a stranger with a knife, according to the Bremerton Police Department.
Jonathan Brent Hirschy, 18, is charged with misdemeanor counts of false reporting and making a false or misleading statement to a public servant and is jailed on a $25,000 bond, according to the jail roster.
Hirschy’s story led officers to believe the attack was related to ongoing investigation of a knife assault and the recent murders of Sara Burke and Melody Brannon.
“Hirschy’s fabrication of this attack resulted in a significant deployment of police resources and unnecessarily raised fears in a community that is already in a heightened state of alertness,” said a press release by Lt. Peter Fisher.
On Tuesday evening, Hirschy waved down a Washington State Patrol Trooper near 15th St. and Warren Avenue and claimed he’d been in a fight, according to court documents. Hirschy reported that he’d been walking to his car in the Olympic College parking lot when a dark-haired man in a leather jacket ran up to him with a knife.
Records say Hirschy told officers he briefly fought with the man, knocking the knife out of the attacker’s hand and receiving hits to the face, and the man fled the area. Hirschy reportedly also said he was a black belt in a style of martial art called “Krav Maga” and used his skills to defend himself from the attacker. He showed officers an injury described as a minor scratch on his left bicep.
Reports say detectives found suspicious details in Hirschy’s story, and after further questioning admitted he’d fabricated the story about the knife attack. Hirschy reportedly told detectives he’d spent the evening with friends who had been looking for drugs, and he had been attacked by a strange man while walking to his car, but no knife was involved.
Court documents say 21 patrol officers and four detectives responded to the incident and assisted in searching the scene, and alerted FBI authorities to be on stand-by because of the seriousness of Hirschy’s initial story. Detective Mike Davis estimated the overtime costs for the detectives at $1200.
Hirschy is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing April 24.
Story updated at 11:43 a.m. April 10 to reflect changed hearing date.
