By Margaret Harding

Published: Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 12:01 a.m.
Updated: Wednesday, August 29, 2012

A woman accused of lying about a robbery in the Downtown hotel room of a Cincinnati Reds player has a chance at a reduced charge.

Pittsburgh District Judge James Hanley Jr. on Tuesday postponed the preliminary hearing for Claudia Manrique, 26, of Silver Spring, Md. If she completes 50 hours of community service before Nov. 28, she could receive a reduced charge of summary disorderly conduct.

She declined to comment after the hearing in municipal court, Downtown.

Pittsburgh police in June charged Manrique with filing a false police report. She told police that a man posing as a maintenance worker robbed her on May 29 after forcing his way into the room she shared with Aroldis Chapman at Omni William Penn. Chapman was at PNC Park for a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Manrique told investigators that the robber demanded the “Louis Vuitton bag with the jewelry” several times, but she could not explain how the man knew there was a bag that contained more than $200,000 worth of jewelry, police reported. She also changed her story to say that she saw the robber earlier in the day and that he threatened her friend.

Police said the results of a polygraph showed she was not being truthful about the robbery. Chapman, who was dating the woman, told police he believed she was involved in the theft.

Margaret Harding is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-380-8519 or mharding@tribweb.com.

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