41-year-old Rowena Bautista was charged with false reporting after she told police her car had been stolen and investigators found out she was lying to protect her son, who was driving the car when it was totaled in a 3-car accident.
On January 1st, Officer Parson responded to a call in reference to a vehicle theft on Autumn Ridge Court. Rowena Bautista told officers that she was getting ready to leave home around 2 pm and noticed her Dodge Charger was not parked outside. She went on to say she last saw her car 12 hours prior when she and her husband came home after their date.
Rowena stated she didn’t think the car was left running, but the keys may have been left inside because they were both intoxicated. She described the car as a gray 2018 Dodge Charger with temp tags. At that exact time, there were officers responding to a three-vehicle accident at Shelby Drive and Hickory Hill. Rowena’s Dodge Charger was one of the vehicles involved. According to witnesses, there were three unknown black males seen running from the vehicle. The car was totaled and the keys were not inside.
During their investigation, officers discovered that Rowena had arrived at the scene of the accident that involved her Dodge Charger. On February 27th, Kenneth Williams walked into the Ridgeway Station and gave officers a typed statement saying that Rowena reported her car stolen after being at the scene of the accident. In addition, the driver of her car was her son Kaylen Bautista and he was identified later in a lineup.
On March 12th, Rowena Bautista was arrested and charged with false reporting. Her bond was set at $1,000.
