Swatting call to Waukesha dealership over personal feud, woman charged
Waukesha dealership swatting call
A woman calls police, saying she’s hiding in a bathroom because her co-worker has a gun. She said shots were fired. It would have been a terrifying moment - if it was true. Now a Milwaukee woman is facing possible prison time.
WAUKESHA, Wis. - A woman calls police, saying she’s hiding in a bathroom because her co-worker has a gun.
She said shots were fired. It would have been a terrifying moment - if it was true.
Now a Milwaukee woman is facing possible prison time.
She’s been summoned to appear in Waukesha County court in March for a felony charge of "falsely reporting an emergency."
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Russ Darrow dealership in Waukesha
This woman did an interview with FOX6 to explain she did it because of a feud with her son’s girlfriend.
October 2024 incident
What we know:
When the call came in last October about a disgruntled Russ Darrow employee with a gun, Waukesha police responded in full force.
20 police officers came to what they were told was an active shooter. They even arrived with an armored vehicle.
But things weren’t anywhere near what they were led to believe.
"I’ve got employees sitting at their desk – I don’t see anyone else in there. Nobody looks panicked at this point," noted an officer over dispatch.
Russ Darrow Dealership
Prosecutors say the woman who made these claims is 54-year-old Levonne Beadle Miller. Dispatchers say she wasn’t even in Waukesha County – her call was routed through Milwaukee.
Investigators say the woman Beadle-Miller said had a gun is actually her estranged son’s girlfriend.
Police say the day before this swatting case, Beadle Miller anonymously called Russ Darrow to say that the same female employee was selling drugs out of the business. That was not true either.
When police played the recordings for the worker and her boyfriend, Beadle Miller’s son told police he was, quote, "1,000%" sure it was his mom’s voice. He recognized her stutter.
Levonne Beadle Miller
What they're saying:
"That was my regret – that is my regret and I do deeply apologize for what happened that day," Beadle Miller said.
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She says it’s now time for the truth. She said she was mad at her son’s girlfriend and she regrets wasting police time.
But she denied making a call the day before about her son’s girlfriend dealing drugs, even when repeatedly questioned about it.
If convicted, she could spend up to three and a half years in prison.
Managers at Russ Darrow say the target of these calls no longer works there.
The Source: FOX6 received the criminal complaint from the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office. FOX6 also spoke with the woman who has been charged with the crime.