On Saturday September 14th, a 23-year-old Stanton man reported to the Stanton Sheriff’s office that he had been physically attacked at about 5:00 a.m. as he walked towards the downtown Stanton area. The victim, who had what appeared to be fresh facial injuries advised he was assaulted by a lone male suspect, and it was believed he was assaulted due to his sexual orientation, which can be considered a “Hate Crime”. The Sheriff’s office spent countless hours canvassing the area for evidence and interviewing residents that lived in that area. Two possible suspects were identified and were quickly cleared after interviews. On Wednesday the 18th, the victim was re-interviewed due to inconsistencies in his story and admitted that he made the entire incident up and that he had not been attacked or assaulted. At that time, Brigham Coggins was arrested and booked on a charge of False Reporting. He is scheduled to appear in court in October. “This false allegation cost the taxpayers of Stanton County and wasted a significant amount of time and resources of the Sheriff’s office on a bogus complaint that created serious innuendos.”, stated Sheriff Mike Unger.
