After stealing his daughter’s Girl Scout cookie money, dad calls 911, Oregon cops say
When a 40-year-old man called police in Forest Grove, Oregon, he reported a fight with an intruder who’d slipped into his home through a sliding glass door, The Oregonian reported.
Officers found Brian Couture unresponsive at 10 a.m. March 6 and took him to a hospital, KGW reported. Police searched the neighborhood with K9 units, frightening neighbors, but came up empty.
Then they discovered he’d faked the whole thing to cover up his theft of $740 of his daughter’s Girl Scout cookie sale proceeds, KDRV reported.
Couture pleaded not guilty Friday to initiating a false report and improper use of an emergency reporting system, KPTV reported.
The Girl Scouts of America confirmed that Couture has a daughter in the program and that $740 in cookie sale funds are missing, KDRV reported.
Forest Grove police declined to describe Couture’s injuries in the March 6 incident, KGW reported, noting only that officers found him unresponsive after the 911 call.
“There’s a distinct difference between being unconscious and being unresponsive,” Capt. Michael Hall said, according to the station. Neighbors called the ensuing police search for the non-existent burglar upsetting.
“There were cops from all over, dogs, the forensic team, they had crime scene tape up everywhere,” said Brooke Gwin, KGW reported. Gwin said she was “very, very relieved” to learn no break-in had taken place.
On March 18, police arrested Couture after learning about the missing Girl Scout funds. Officers say he admitted to making up the robbery to conceal the theft, KPTV reported.
In a statement, Girl Scouts of America says it’s working with Forest Grove police on the case, according to the station. “At this time, Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington is following our normal procedure to collect on funds owed,” the statement says. “The stewardship of Girl Scout troop funds is a top priority for our organization, and that is our focus in this matter.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2019 at 8:15 AM with the headline "After stealing his daughter’s Girl Scout cookie money, dad calls 911, Oregon cops say."