Click here to download the probable cause statement

A Jackson woman faces six counts of making false reports to police, the result of an alleged scheme to prove her estranged husband was an unfit father.

Lacey D. Hinkle, 21, was charged Tuesday and arrested on a $6,000 cash or surety bond. She was later released on bond and had a court appearance scheduled for today before Cape Girardeau County Associate Circuit Judge Gary A. Kamp.

Hinkle had allegedly made 911 calls from May 11 through June 1, most of them reporting structure fires or serious traffic crashes, according to a probable-cause statement by Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department deputy Heather VanGennip.

The first call May 11 came from a someone who identified herself as "Candice," saying there was a green Jeep flipped over on its side in front of the Gordonville Bar and Grill.

The four public safety agencies that responded to the report found nothing.

Following that call came five more made to 911 in the Gordonville Fire Protection District area, all of them unfounded, according to the sworn statement.

Various names and telephone numbers were used to make all of the calls, and all of them involved either serious car crashes or house fires. Brandon Hinkle, a volunteer firefighter with the Gordonville fire department, and his brother, Matt Hinkle, also a firefighter, reported seeing Lacey Hinkle near two of the false-report locations. Brandon Hinkle has an active ex parte order against him by Lacey Hinkle, his wife.

Matthew Hinkle listened to the 911 calls and identified the caller as Lacey Hinkle, the sworn statement said.

One of the false reports of a house fire was in the Willow Heights subdivision off Highway 25, where the Hinkles used to live, the statement said.

"When I spoke with Lacey about the 911 calls, Lacey began crying and admitted that she was the person who made the false reports on 911," VanGennip wrote.

Lacey Hinkle told investigators she was trying to prove her husband was an unfit father by forcing him to either bring their child with him on emergency calls for the fire department or to leave the child at home alone, the statement said.

Lacey Hinkle said she thought she'd made five calls to 911, the probable-cause statement said, and eventually admitted to making all six of the calls when she was shown the incident sheets.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3635