A Georgia woman has been arrested and charged with making a phony 911 call that ultimately triggered a police chase culminating in the death of rapper Young Scooter, authorities in Atlanta said.
Demetria Spence, 31, was booked into Fulton County Jail Tuesday on one count of transmitting a false public alarm that led to “serious bodily harm, or death,” police announced. She’s accused of making an emergency call late Friday, during which she falsely reported a shooting and assault at a home in Lakewood Heights, located just outside of Atlanta.
“They started shooting, but this, the house needs to be investigated,” Spence allegedly says in audio of the emergency call, per ABC News. “They’re definitely doing — so they’re doing illegal stuff over there.”
The caller also reported an injured girl who was “bleeding profusely” and trying to escape the home.
“She’s trying to get away, and they’re holding her,” the caller said. “She’s being held hostage … She ran outside naked, and then he was fighting her outside.”
Spence also allegedly claimed “a child was in danger as well because the woman had a baby.”
It was enough to trigger a police response. When authorities arrived on the scene, Young Scooter — who was born Kenneth Bailey — exited the residence and ran from law enforcement.
“After a brief foot chase, officers were able to locate the male and he was found to be suffering from an apparent leg injury,” according to a statement from the Atlanta Police Department. It also emphasized officers “did not discharge their firearms” during the encounter.
Officers then rendered emergency aid, applying a tourniquet on the scene, before Scooter was transported to the hospital. He was pronounced dead a short time later, the same day as his 39th birthday.
An autopsy revealed the rapper suffered a “penetrating injury of the right thigh,” caused by “fencing material and/or woody debris,” the The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office said. The wound resulted in “marked blood loss” and his cause of death was ruled accidental. The medical examiner also emphasized that Scooter’s “injury was not a gunshot wound,” again noting that he “injured himself.”
Spence’s bond was set at $7,500 and an investigation into Scooter’s death is ongoing.
