October 6, 2009
Brandon Haught
Public Information Office

VICTIM BECOMES DEFENDANT IN FAKE ROBBERY

A 22-year-old claimed he was robbed at knifepoint Monday night near New Smyrna Beach and that the robber took off with his bottle of oxycodone. But elements of the victim’s story didn’t add up and Timothy Maas eventually admitted to Volusia County Sheriff’s deputies that he had lost his pills and had hoped that a call to 911 about a fake robbery would eventually net him a replacement prescription. Instead, he wound up in jail.

Deputies responded to the intersection of Hammond Street and Debbie Street at approximately 9:38 p.m. when Maas called 911 to report that as he was walking down the street a man had jumped out of some nearby bushes and accosted him at knifepoint. Maas went on to tell deputies that the man demanded everything in his pockets, which included his keys, cell phone and pill bottle. Maas’ phantom robber then fled across a field and ditched the phone and keys while keeping the oxycodone. A K-9 unit was then deployed, but wasn’t able to find a scent. Additionally, deputies discovered that nobody could run through the grassy field without leaving clear tracks, and yet no tracks were evident. A second telling of the tale by Maas revealed a few inconsistencies. Finally, Maas gave up on his story and admitted that the whole thing was just a scheme to get a replacement prescription for a bottle of oxycodone he had lost.

Maas, a New Smyrna Beach resident, was charged with filing a false police report, misuse of 911 and resisting arrest without violence. He was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach without further incident.