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MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Detroit police officer was charged Monday and has pleaded not guilty to charges that she and nine other adults racked up a $530 bill on Mother's Day at a Japanese steakhouse - and then left without paying.
Rochelle Mayberry was charged with defrauding an innkeeper for the huge bill at Sagan's Japanese Steakhouse in Warren.
Friend pays $530 bill after 10 walk out of Warren Japanese Steakhouse
Mayberry was allegedly part of the party of ten that racked up the bill and then asked for separate checks - before skipping out on the payment on Mother's Day.
The Mother's Day meal for the party of 10 was all captured on avideo and when they asked for five bills, the server returned but they were all gone.
After FOX 2 featured the story on the Friday after Mother's Day, tips led to a female Detroit Police officer, identified as Mayberry.
The 25-year-old officer was charged with misdmeanor crime on Monday, more than two weeks after Mother's Day.
Mayberry was released on a $1,000 personal bond. Her attorney, Ellen Michaels, said this is all a misunderstanding and she's determined to prove it.
"She wasn't involved in any responsibility for th ebill. She was a guest and that's going to be shown in court. We're fighting this all the way," said Michaels. "I'm not going to go into the facts of the case except to say she did not do anything wrong and the facts are gonna show that."
The day after FOX 2's original story aired - someone came to Sagano and paid that big bill saying to restaurant staff that they were a 'friend' of the party who walked out.
Macomb County Prosecutor said that person was Mayberry.
"The fact that none of them - particularly a law enforcement officer - didn't think it through and say maybe we shouldn't do this," Smith said last week.
Mayberry claimed she thought someone else in her party had paid the bill.
Detroit cop part of group charged with leaving $500 bill at Japanese steakhouse
The crime of defrauding an innkeeper is a 90-day misdemeanor. Mayberry is under internal investigation by the Detroit Police Department has been suspended from the police department pending the investigation.
Police Chief James Craig said there some issues in her file but not like this.
"She has some other pending internal matters that we're looking at as well. It's not just this one incident, but there are other incidents," said Craig. "Administrative violations, some involved demeanor but i'm not at liberty to go into totality of those other (matters). But not to that level of severity."