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Ruse nabs suspect in bogus 911 reports
Knoxville News Sentinel ^ | 12/28/6 | JAMIE SATTERFIELD

Posted on 12/28/2006 7:46:55 AM PST by SmithL

One good prank deserves another.

That's what these Knoxville Fire Department investigators figured when they turned the tables on a suspect in a rash of bogus reports of emergencies.

With only a cellular phone number as a clue, KFD Capts. Brent Seymour, Jeff Stooksbury and Doug Conard came up with a ruse to ferret out the identity of the felonious prankster.

"I left a message that the phone's owner had won a gift card from a major retailer," Seymour testified Wednesday in Knox County General Sessions Court. "I said I needed a name and address to send the gift card to."

What Seymour got was even better: The suspect, eager to get his gift card in time for Christmas, offered to show up in person to collect it, Seymour testified.

But, wait, there's more. Not only did the suspect essentially walk into a set of handcuffs, but he had in his pocket the cellular phone records that show the phone was used to make 15 prank calls in two months, Seymour said.

Case closed? Nope. Santa had one more gift for KFD's arson squad.

When the investigators checked the phone for a list of recent calls, they found a call to 911 entered at the same time Knox County's Emergency-911 Center received a faux report of a gas leak, Seymour said.

"His first words were, 'I already cleared those,' " Seymour said. "His words were, 'You can't prove it.' "

According to court records, the man accused of making those fake calls - Jason Mark Harms - told authorities that he was doing taxpayers a favor by drawing otherwise lazy firefighters out of their cozy fire halls.

That excuse didn't sit well with Assistant District Attorney General Willie Harper.

"There have been situations where people needed that help,...

(Excerpt) Read more at knoxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: stupidcriminaltrick

1 posted on 12/28/2006 7:46:57 AM PST by SmithL
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To: SmithL
According to court records, the man accused of making those fake calls - Jason Mark Harms - told authorities that he was doing taxpayers a favor by drawing otherwise lazy firefighters out of their cozy fire halls.

On the other hand, he made it real, REAL easy for the cops.

2 posted on 12/28/2006 8:01:07 AM PST by atomicpossum (Replies must follow approved guidelines or you will be kill-filed without appeal.)
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