DOUGLAS COUNTY, GEORGIA – A Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officer was arrested after allegedly claiming a pickup truck was stolen.
Officer Catrice Lockett, 37, was arrested Jan. 4, in Douglas County, Georgia, according to sheriff’s office records. Douglas County is west of Atlanta.
Lockett is charged with false report of a crime, fraudulent insurance claim and conspiracy to commit a felony, according to Douglas County Jail records.
The local paper Georgia paper, the Douglas County Sentinel, reported Lockett’s fiancé was arrested and charged for similar crimes. The Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive could not find a record of his arrest in the jail logs or daily arrest reports. MLive does not typically name people before they’ve been criminally charged.
Lockett was placed on administrative leave when KDPS learned of the incident in late December, KDPS Public Information Office Jay Shatara said. The department has its own investigation happening, he said.
Lockett joined KDPS in 2016. She had worked at Grand Valley State University and the Muskegon Heights Police Department prior to that, according to a 2021 Facebook post from KDPS.
In Kalamazoo, she worked as a patrol officer for two years, a school resource officer from 2018 to 2020 and then worked in the community policing unit, the post said.
The couple allegedly claimed Lee’s silver 2011 Toyota Tundra was stolen while they were at a Georgia state park in Oct. 17, according to reports from the Douglas County Sentinel.
Neither were in Georgia on the date they said the truck was stolen, according to the Sentinel. The couple was trying to get a report so they could make an insurance claim, according to a warrant, per the Sentinel.
Douglas County courts only allow people to review criminal cases in person. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office only allows cash payments for records.
Lockett was released on a $25,000 bond, according to jail records.
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