A Florida woman sparked chaos late last month after accusing strangers of stealing her phone—only to discover it was sitting in her SUV the entire time.
The Key West Police Department told Local 10 News that officers were dispatched to the 1300 block of Ashby Street after reports of “a female in a white Ford Explorer” who allegedly confronted a man while armed with a revolver.
The woman was later identified as Gail Marie Stephenson, 57.
Stephenson told police she had been drinking at the American Legion Hall earlier in the evening and gave “a younger gentleman” she didn’t know a ride home.
She insisted that the man had stolen her phone. But when officers asked her to check her vehicle, they found the missing phone lying in plain sight on the driver’s side floorboard.
Even with the discovery, multiple calls kept coming in about a woman matching Stephenson’s description. Neighbors reported that she was “banging on people’s homes and threatening those residences, stating she had been robbed.”
One 52-year-old man told police he came outside with a flashlight after Stephenson pulled up to his home, “blowing her horn repeatedly.”
He said she pointed a revolver at his chest before setting it down and declaring, “She was robbed.”
Police said Stephenson then pointed at a nearby gate, claiming the man who robbed her went inside.
The resident of that property told officers Stephenson had banged on her door several times after entering through a closed fence gate. She didn’t answer and had no idea who Stephenson was.
Authorities later recovered the loaded revolver on that same property, tucked inside a purple Crown Royal bag behind a trash can.
Stephenson initially denied having the weapon, claiming her husband had it “with him in Georgia.” Officers reported she “smelled strongly” of alcohol and admitted to having “several drinks” earlier that night.
Stephenson was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed trespassing, and evidence tampering, all felonies.
She is scheduled to be arraigned on October 10.