Associated Press – Dec. 29, 2006 via the Museum of Hoaxes:
Knoxville Fire Department investigators used a ruse of their own to nab a man suspected of making a series of bogus emergency calls on his cell phone.
After receiving a false report of a gas leak on Dec. 14, firefighters compared notes.
They confirmed 15 fake 911 calls over a two-month period, including four house fires, six car crashes and various other medical emergencies. All came from the same cell phone.
So they called the number and left a message saying the phone’s owner had won a gift card from a major retailer, Fire Capt. Brent Seymour said.
Within an hour, Seymour received a call back from a man identifying himself as the phone’s owner. “He willingly gave his name and address,” Seymour said. “I told him I would be sending that gift card.”
But that wasn’t quick enough to suit the man. He wanted the gift card in time for Christmas. So the investigators set up a meeting for that evening.
Seymour said he waited only a few minutes in a business parking lot before suspect Jason Mark Harms arrived on foot, identified himself as the gift card recipient and was arrested.
Seymour said Harms’ first words were, “You can’t prove it.”
But General Sessions Judge Charles Cerny found the evidence strong enough Wednesday to send 15 felony counts of making false reports against Harms to a Knox County grand jury.
Harms, 29, told authorities he thought he was doing taxpayers a favor by drawing otherwise lazy firefighters out of their cozy fire halls, according to court papers.
idle minds…
rofl
Is this a case of pretexting? Lying about who you are to gain the whereabouts of a suspected criminal or is it only when you use it to gain information from innocent third parties?
I’m not saying it’s wrong to run a little scam to lure a suspect in.
#3) I believe it’s only illegal if they use pretexting/entrapment to lure you into committing a crime you otherwise wouldn’t have. In this case, the crime was already committed, and I believe the courts have been pretty lenient regarding how criminals are actually tracked down and arrested.
Same ruse as cops use to get unpaid traffic ticket offenders.
Hell once something has been parodied in The Simpsons I think we can safely say the tactic is not news.
#3 and #4 –
Right… In this case, they used “pretexting” to apprehend a suspect who had already committed multiple crimes… That, I believe, is completely legal and right.
Ascii King, I hope the next time your house is burning down the fire department is on a bogus call across town due to people like Jason Mark Harms.
Bogus 911 calls have become entertainment for slackers with nothing better to do. These people should be caught and prosecuted anyway the police can do it.
#7, sirfelix
That is totally uncalled for and very rude. To wish harm on anyone is in poor taste. Unless you’re a neo-con, in which case it is normal.
Niiice. He deserved it.
#8
Not only that… But the way I read it, asci king was asking a pretty straight forward question about pretexting, and not condeming anyone. I hope asci king’s house never burns down.
Plus, have bogus 911 calls really become slacker entertainment or is this another one of those “I don’t know anything about anything but I’m gonna make an irrational blanket claim about something because I love to hear myself bitch” statements?
ASCII KING — 90% of my law knowledge come from TV but I THINK police ARE allowed to “pretext.” I mean, that’s basically what a sting is, right?
I complain all the time about our government, but this case doesn’t bother me as long as the authorities can prove they had reasonable suspicion that this was the guy. And, from this story, they clearly did.
What bothers me about Bush’s warrantless spying on Americans is that there is no point where the government has to prove they are acting reasonably.
#9 – If you’re blameless, you have nothing to fear. (snark)
#9 – The blameless have nothing to fear from the defenders of God and country. (snark)
OhForTheLoveOf , its not a blanket statement. I’ve witnessed it first hand and spoke to several 911 operators that live in my city. Bogus calls are a huge problem, especially in a community of bored teens and adults.
I also live in a coastal city. The Coast Guard here must react to any destressed calls and are constantly looking for boats in trouble when there are none because some fool decided it was fun to watch the CG boats rush out to sea in a storm.
Again, how would you like if you needed help and they were tied up in a bogus call? How would you like if your husband or wife was on one of these CG boats in a storm, putting themselves in danger for nothing?
Its easy to complain how police nab these characters until one day some prankster decides to prank call your house 20 times per day. Wouldn’t you want the police to find creative ways to stop the insanity?
#14,
No one is condoning false 911 calls. We all recognize the danger in them. Having said that, there is still no excuse for wishing a calamity on anyone. Hoping someone’s house burns down is way too much.