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Tamaqua man allegedly made numerous trivial and false police reports
Jan 01, 2009 (The Morning Call - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
A Tamaqua man who had more than 100 contacts with police in the past two years has been ordered to face Schuylkill County Court on charges he harassed authorities with calls about a rock in his yard being moved 4 inches, pool water ruining his grass, children making noise and unfounded property damage reports.
David W. Roeder, 51, of 130 W. Spruce St. should face single counts of persistent disorderly conduct and reckless endangerment, District Judge Stephen J. Beyer of Tamaqua ruled after a preliminary hearing Tuesday. Beyer dismissed a count of harassment by communication.
The ruling came exactly two years after Tamaqua Police Chief Dave Mattson, then a patrolman, advised Roeder in writing "to cease and desist the nonsense calls to the station and 911 center."
Police said in an arrest affidavit they brought the charges after years of warning Roeder against making phone calls to the Schuylkill County Communications Center without a legitimate complaint. His calls tied up emergency phone lines and operators and kept police from responding to legitimate calls, the affidavit says.
He sometimes lied to dispatchers about alleged threats to blow up his house and people having guns to speed up the response time of officers, police said, and even "resorted to making calls anonymously despite call-takers in Pottsville knowing his voice."
"When not satisfied by the actions of initial responding officers, he has contacted either the 911 center or the police station directly to complain again at times," the affidavit says. "Most of these complaints again are unfounded."
Roeder's number of complaints "had become so egregious" that his address was added to the police reporting system as a landmark so they wouldn't have to manually type it, the affidavit says.
His final encounter with police was Oct. 21, when he complained about criminal mischief done to his front porch. While police were on the way, Roeder allegedly tied up the emergency line again, calling the 911 center to complain police were taking a long time.
Police said he tried to blame a neighbor, with whom he has a "history," then changed his story. Police said he has done that in the past.
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