Deputies: Polk County man staged robbery to get out of work, ends up in jail

DUNDEE, Fla. (FOX 13) - A Florida man went to extreme lengths to avoid going in to work, allegedly calling 911 and falsely reporting a crime.

Polk County deputies said Brian Anderson, 32, dialed 911 Saturday to report being robbed at gunpoint in Dundee off Highway 27 and Lincoln Avenue, describing the robbers as two men who took his wallet, necklace and cell phone. Anderson also described a getaway car to dispatchers during the call, deputies said.

“What did you dial 911 on? ‘Well they threw my cellphone down.’ So we said to our self, ‘Self, this is a little suspicious,’” said Sheriff Grady Judd.

Sheriff Judd said Anderson admitted he made everything up to avoid going in to work for his 11 a.m. shift at Hardee’s down the road.

“Do you cook those hamburgers at Hardee’s, or do you smoke them?" Judd asked. "Why would you do that?”

The sheriff said that fake crime report tied up resources.

“We’re not only sending a deputy to the scene. We’re now scrambling cars, setting up a perimeter, looking for robbery suspects,” said Judd. “So, when I think about people out there who are real victims of crime that really need our help and we wasted resources on him, it makes you angry.”

The call did indeed get him out of work -- but into jail.

“Now, there’s a chance, a slim chance, if he behaves, we’ll let him cook at the county jail. But it won’t be Hardee’s hamburgers,” said Judd.

The sheriff said Anderson has a criminal history, including being arrested over 40 times. He’s in the county jail charged with misusing 911 and filing a false report.