Update: Bond Set at $9,000 for Woman Charged in False Hostage Incident

A Fulton County judge set a $9,000 bond for the 19-year-old woman charged in connection with a false abduction report, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Alexandra Dahm, a student at Appalachian State University in North Carolina and a graduate of Centennial High School in Roswell, has never been in trouble before, her lawyer said, according to the newspaper. She's also been charged with reporting a false crime, along with previous charges of cocaine possession and tampering with evidence.

Atlanta police Thursday charged Dahm with cocaine possession after she falsely claimed that she was abducted and held by seven men armed with shotguns. Her text-messaged claims set off a SWAT team lockdown that lasted several hours on Darlington Road, near its intersection with Piedmont Road.

The bizarre story led to the Atlanta Police Department SWAT team sending armored hostage negotiators to a home on Darlington setting up a command post, and closing the road for several hours, Atlanta police spokesperson Kim Jones said. The incident began at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday and concluded a little past 9 a.m.

After police questioned the home’s residents and the woman was found to be in no danger, she was taken to headquarters after admitting to use of cocaine during the night, Jones said. She was examined by a medic at the scene, Jones said.

At Zone 2, Dahm requested to use the bathroom, where an officer observed her taking a blue glassine baggie from her underwear and attempting to put it in the toilet, Jones said. The bag contained powder cocaine, Jones said.

Police charged Dahm with possession of cocaine and tampering with evidence, and she was transported to the Fulton County Jail.

Officers at 6:29 a.m. Thursday responded to the report of a possible kidnapping at the home at 664 Darlington Road after a caller, identified by Jones as James White, said that several Asian men possibly had abducted Dahm from the Connect Lounge at 253 Auburn Ave. White said he’d been with her at the lounge when she turned up missing and didn’t respond to text messages, Jones said.

Later, she sent him several “alarming” text messages from the home on Darlington, some of which read "they will not allow me out of the car" and "several Asian males armed with multiple shotguns,” the police spokesperson said.

White told police that he drove to the location and spoke with Dahm in the driveway, where she said she was afraid to leave and would not get in his car. Fearing for her safety, White left the location and called 911. A command post was set up at Darlington Road and Darlington Circle.

Dahm walked out of the house several hours later and said that she was not in any danger. She admitted that she had been using powder cocaine, police said.

Jones said that Kevin Chang, who rents the house, allowed the home to be searched, and no weapons were discovered. The house’s six residents described a night of drinking and drug use. Police detained none of them, although some were briefly handcuffed at the scene.

When questioned by Zone 2 detectives, Dahm said that she “may have over-exaggerated her text messages,” Jones said. She also admitted that she had deleted the text messages.