The defendant charged with filing a false report after he told authorities an animal attacked him last September pleaded guilty in Campbell County Criminal Court this month.
Michael Savage, 28, of LaFollette, claimed he was walking along Demory Road in LaFollette in the early morning hours of Sept.
4, when he was attacked by an animal with dark coarse fur that was possibly a bear. Savage had multiple lacerations on his chest and face; however they were inconsistent with injuries typically sustained in bear attacks. After a thorough investigation by the TWRA, there was no evidence to support the claim and Savage was charged with the felony violation.
Savage appeared in front of Judge Shayne Sexton in Campbell Co. Criminal Court on April 11 and entered a guilty plea to the charge of felony false report. Prior to the plea, he had served time in jail from Jan. 7-Apr. 11 while awaiting a plea bargain with ADA Thomas Barclay who handled the case for the state. Following the plea, Judge Sexton sentenced him to serve an additional 95 days in jail with two years unsupervised probation and $3,130 in court cost and fines.