Baltimore police said Tuesday they are challenging some of the “Lady in the Lake” film crew’s claims that they were targeted for extortion by drug dealers last week after investigating the matter.
The Apple+ TV series, based on a book by Laura Lippman, stars Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram and is in production in the city.
The initial report filed Friday by a crew member of the series was found to be inconsistent in follow-up conversations with the victims, police said in a statement.
A police spokesperson originally told the Baltimore Banner that the incident involved drug dealers threatening the crew with violence if they weren’t paid $50,000.
But detectives later determined that a local street vendor was upset he couldn’t sell his clothing while the crew was filming downtown. He was looking to be compensated by the production team for the lost business.
In Friday’s police report, the crew member who originally said he saw a gun being brandished retracted his statement when asked to describe the firearm by police. He then told authorities that a driver on set saw the gun.
SEE ALSO: Baltimore drug dealers target ‘Lady in the Lake’ crew for extortion attempt
A second member of the film crew at first told police that the suspects wanted $4,000, but later said they wanted $50,000, the Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday.
However, the newspaper said that the second member of the film crew didn’t have any knowledge of who made the threats or the requests for money.
Police did talk with the vendor, a 43-year-old man from Pikesville, described in Friday’s initial police report. The vendor confirmed that he spoke with a crew member and a security manager and was awaiting paperwork to receive compensation for lost business on Aug. 26.
He was later arrested Monday on a separate drug charge.
The film crew moved locations Friday after interacting with the vendor. They plan on filming in the city until October.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.