Woman sentenced for false threats made via fake Facebook account

Officials in California sentenced a woman to one year in jail for impersonating her ex-boyfriend on a social media site and sending threatening statements to her own account.

Stephani Renae Lawson of Las Vegas was sentenced by Orange County officials on Wednesday, the Orange County Register reported. The 25-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of false imprisonment and one count of perjury, both felonies. Three other counts of false imprisonment and one count of attempted false imprisonment were dismissed as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, according to Deputy District Attorney Mark Geller.

Lawson was living in California when she created a Facebook account in the name her ex-boyfriend, KTLA reported. According to a statement from the Orange County District Attorney's Office, Lawson sent numerous threats to her own account, which resulted in the arrest of Tyler Parkervest. He made his first appearance in that case on Nov. 23 last year, and charges against him were dropped on Oct. 6, the Orange County Register reported.

While charges were initially filed against Parkervest, an investigation into Lawson’s claims led to her arrest and conviction.
Parkervest was arrested four times between September and December last year after she filed multiple police reports with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department stating he had violated a restraining order, stalked her and threatened to kill her via Facebook, officials said.

He was also charged with trying to get her to not testify against him in court, the Orange County Register reported.
Authorities decided to conduct a follow-up investigation into Lawson’s statements on the witness stand and, because she had used her own devices and internet provider address, determined her ex-boyfriend was the true victim, KTLA reported.
Lawson was charged and arrested on Sept. 28 in Las Vegas.

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