Published: July 26, 2008 09:04 pm         

Kidnapping was a hoax

PICAYUNE — A rumor concerning a kidnapping that allegedly occurred more than a year ago was apparently nothing more than a hoax.

Supposedly a man was kidnapped from a local Chevron gas station and taken out of state. A news story ran in the July 10, 2007 edition of the Picayune Item stating the kidnapping occurred on July 5, 2007.

Picayune Police personnel would not comment on the case since it was still under investigation, the article states.

In March, Roger Spence, now 58, of 70 Aubrey Aden Rd., Carriere, was found guilty in city court by Judge Rochelle Lumpkin for the false report of the kidnapping, court documents state.

Spence was arrested on the charge of false report of the crime on July 24, 2007 and plead not guilty to the charge. On March 12, of this year he was found guilty and fined $221 plus an additional $136 in assessments, court documents state. That fine was paid in full on March 31, 2008.