13 February 2023- A Fayetteville woman is looking at a felony charge after she allegedly hides a man wanted by Franklin County Sherriff’s Deputies in her closet. Brandi Lea Bechtel is free on an unsecured bail of $5,000 after being charged with felony hindering apprehension/harboring a wanted person.
On January 12th of 2023 Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputies were attempting to serve a warrant on Alan Jaques at a home on Wile Circle in Fayetteville. Jaques is currently free after posting bail but is charged with felony access device fraud and elder fraud.
When deputies knocked on the door they were met by Brandi Bechtel who allegedly told police Jaques “has not been here in days”. When asked if they could search the house, Bechtel allegedly consented to the search but told them she had to use the bathroom first. After closing the door and walking away, deputies allegedly heard a lot of commotion and noise coming from the master bedroom directly near where they were standing outside. After a few minutes Bechtel opened the door and let the deputies in, allegedly telling the police that nobody was in the house except “me and my cats”.
While searching the master bedroom, deputies allegedly found Jaques hiding in the closet with boxes stacked in front of him. Deputies also allegedly found a plastic bag of men’s clothing on the floor of the living room in front of the couch where Bechtel was seated during the search.
Bechtel is free on an unsecured bail of $5,000. Her preliminary hearing is set for February 21st.
Sources: Incident Number: FCS-2023-01-00104, Docket Number: MJ-39304-CR-0000050-2023, Docket Number: CP-28-CR-0000403-2022
