Bessemer woman charged after falsely claiming hostage situation

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Al.
A 62-year-old Bessemer woman has been arrested for falsely reporting a hostage situation involving her estranged husband.

Frankie Cashion

Jefferson County sheriff's deputies on Wednesday received a call from the woman, Frankie Cashion, about a possible hostage situation at Western Steel in the 3300 block of Davey Allison Boulevard near Hueytown.
She told lawmen that her husband had made threats against her life and had violated a restraining order. She went on to say that he was inside a business holding employees at gunpoint with a sawed-off shotgun, said Chief Deputy Randy Christian.
Deputies flocked to the scene with emergency lights and sirens.
When they arrived, Christian said, they found Cashion sitting in the parking lot of the business. Deputies went inside and found everything to be normal.
Employees were working and there was no hostage situation. The woman's husband was not even there, and had not been there when she arrived.
Cashion later told deputies she made it up to prompt a swift response because she was afraid there might be violence. Christian said investigators believe Cashion is in a struggle for her husband's business, and this may have been an attempt to strengthen her position.
Cashion was charged with falsley reporting an incident and obstructing governmental operations. She was released from the county jail after posting $1,000 bond.