Wife of Ozarks Minutemen founder charged with making false report

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The wife of an Ozarks Minutemen founder has been charged with filing a false report after investigators determined her story about being raped and shot by three Hispanic men was untrue.

Angela D. Wilburn, 44, was charged Thursday with filing a false report. She was released from the Greene County Jail after posting a $500 bond.

"My wife made a mistake, a big mistake," said her husband, Brian Wilburn, who helped form the Ozarks Minutemen, a community group similar to the anti-illegal immigration Minutemen Civil Defense Corps.

Brian Wilburn said his wife made a bad decision but that her actions had nothing to do with the Minutemen. He said his wife was investigating suspicious noises at their home near Brookline when she accidentally shot herself in the knee.

According to a probable-cause statement filed in the case, Angela Wilburn called 911 early Dec. 8 saying someone had shot her. The probable-cause statement says she told investigators that three Hispanic men broke into her home, one of the men sexually assaulted her and then shot her with a handgun.

In an interview Wednesday with detectives, Angela Wilburn allegedly admitted that she made up the story. According to the probable-cause statement, Wilburn told detectives that she grabbed her husband's gun after hearing a noise and was reaching for a flashlight when the gun went off.

She told authorities that she made up the story about being raped and shot because she was embarrassed, the probable-cause statement said.

Chief deputy Jim Arnott said the Greene County Sheriff's Department had invested more than 100 man-hours in the investigation and would seek restitution from Wilburn.

The department also said Angela Wilburn reported on June 2 that three Spanish-speaking men in a van tried to abduct her. The reported incident led to a statewide alert.

Arnott said the reported abduction attempt is still under investigation. Brian Wilburn said he believes his wife's account of the attempted abduction to be true.

"I saw the bruises on her arm, and I don't have any reason to doubt that whatsoever," he said.