L.A. woman arrested after she claimed bus was hijacked
A 50-year-old Los Angeles woman remains in Washington County jail following her arrest late Friday afternoon by state police after she allegedly claimed the Greyhound bus she was riding was hijacked.
Alesia Fermon was charged by state police with risking a catastrophe, false alarms to agencies of public service, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.
State police said Fermon was on the bus going south on Interstate 79 near the Allegheny County line just before 5 p.m. when she called 911 to report that the bus was hijacked and was going the wrong direction. The call was disconnected and the dispatcher from Allegheny County 911 was unable to recontact the woman.
State police saw a Greyhound bus matching the description stopped on the shoulder of the highway near the Racetrack Road exit in Chartiers Township. Police learned the bus was not hijacked and was taking I-79 south as part of the intended route and eventual destination in Maryland.
Fermon was taken off the bus and to the state police barracks, where she allegedly told a trooper in an interview that she was homeless and going to Baltimore from Las Vegas. She told police she boarded the bus Wednesday and she transferred to other buses 15 times, including one at the Pittsburgh Greyhound station. Fermon told police that after the bus left Pittsburgh, she became concerned because she saw road signs indicating they were going west, and she thought they were going the wrong direction. She also said she did not see any authorized Greyhound personnel transfer her luggage onto the bus. Fermon also indicated the driver was not a “real” Greyhound bus driver and said she wanted off the bus.
Fermon was arraigned before District Judge Robert Redlinger and placed in jail on $5,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 18 before District Judge David Mark.