APRIL 1 WAS A SLOW DAY AT MOLLY'S PUB

If you’re a barkeep and have only one customer who was there only because he returned to retrieve his cell phone which he forgot when he left earlier, I guess you’ve got to do something to keep awake.

While the cops took mercy on her, Molly did not. Molly fired her.

POLICE CALLED OUT TO APRIL FOOL’S DAY PRANK GONE TOO FAR
By Sonia Azad

abc 13
April 1, 2011

TOMBALL, TX -- It appeared to be a terrifying situation happening inside a Tomball business. Officers arrived and surrounded the place, ready for the worst. But this story has one shocking twist -- this was all an apparent April fool's joke that got out of hand.

If you happened to drive by Molly's Pub in Tomball Friday morning, you may have noticed police officers around the building and on the roof, and even a chopper flying overhead. Authorities thought they were responding to a robbery. It turns out, they were fooled.

More than a dozen Tomball police officers jumped into action when they got the call for help.

Tomball Police Chief Robert Hauck said, "We knew there was a woman in the building and then when our first responders got there we could see there was a woman in the building and a man as well."

Police received a call from a daughter seemingly distressed about a robbery in progress. Her mom worked at Molly's Pub and texted that she was being held up. It turns out there was no robber. It was all an April Fool's Day hoax between mother and daughter that went too far.

"Her daughter did exactly what she should do and called police," Chief Hauck said.

Investigators, patrol units, administrators and even the chief himself responded to the scene, along with the Tomball Police Department's most recent addition -- a gyro-plane. Within minutes, they surrounded the building, used a megaphone to get the woman out, then went after the presumed robber -- a regular customer, who was inside the pub.

Chief Hauck explained, "He was, as fate would have it, a customer that had left his phone in the business, and happened to wander in at just the wrong time."

The man was taken into custody and fortunately he had a good sense of humor once police explained what happened. But Chief Robert Hauck says this serves as a reminder.

He said, "When somebody makes a prank call, a horrible decision manifests into something like this, that does pull resources away from the city."

As for the prankster, she hit a bit of luck. She won't face any charges, this time. Police consider it a lesson learned.

"We thought, this isn't going to solve anything by putting this woman in jail," Chief Hauck said. "She gets it."