Teens falsely accused

Three Red Bluff teenagers were released from Tehama County Juvenile Detention Center Nov. 8 after being held for weeks on false charges. In early October, an unidentified teenager reported a Sept. 8 knife attack to the Red Bluff Police Department, claiming three juveniles held him down and tried to carve “X3” into his chest, according to an apologetic pointed press release from Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen (pictured).

The teens were arrested on charges of mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and street terrorism. But the victim was not consistent with his story, changing the number of attackers and description of the masks they wore. He subsequently admitted to lying, and the accused were set free with charges dismissed.

“Three innocent boys were jailed for close to three weeks!” Cohen exclaimed in the press release. “Although the right thing happened in the long run, three teenage boys were falsely accused and were wrongly held in juvenile hall!”