Tulsa Man Jailed For False Kidnapping Report That Launched Amber Alert

Sunday, September 14th 2014, 8:52 am

By: Dee Duren

Police say the man who was arrested for making a false Amber Alert did so to make sure he got his stolen SUV back.

His wife informed Tulsa Police just after midnight that the boy - reported to be in an SUV stolen from a gas station at 31st and Yale - was instead spending the night with relatives.

"He felt that we would spend more time looking for his vehicle if we thought there was a child in it," Sergeant John Adams said early Sunday.

"We had over 60 officers, over five agencies, helicopter, federal agencies involved, looking for what we thought was a stolen child."

William Edward Johnson Jr., 32, was booked on a complaint of false report of a crime resulting in an Amber Alert. He is in Tulsa County Jail.

9/13/2014 Related Story: Amber Alert Canceled: Tulsa Police Say Child Was Never In Stolen Vehicle

Police say Johnson called in the report after his custom-painted, purplish-blue 1990 Chevrolet Suburban was stolen from the BN Mart gas station just after 9 p.m. He told officers his 5-year-old nephew was in the car, launching a massive search that led officers to a rural area west of Mounds.

Adams said authorities chased the suspects - who were at that time driving a stolen white truck - to Creek County where the men eventually crashed.

Tulsa police at one point identified the man as John Williams, but Sergeant Adams said his name is William Johnson, who was arrested early Sunday morning on the false Amber Alert complaint.

His arrest report states a total of 67 Tulsa Police officers were deployed in the search. Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, Creek County Sheriff's Office, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Kiefer Police Department and other agencies assisted TPD.

Court records show Johnson already faces four charges in Tulsa County stemming from an arrest August 30, 2014. He was driving his Suburban when he was pulled over for driving with a cracked windshield. Officers say he was smoking marijuana, had paraphernalia in the vehicle and a suspended license.

On Wednesday, September 10, 2014, a Tulsa teenager hijacked a car with a 1-year-old boy inside at a gas station at Apache and Harvard. The mother was just outside the vehicle airing up the tire when the teen hopped in and drove away.

Tulsa Police arrested Ross Harjo and recovered the 1 year old a short distance away.