|
Woman accused of making 48 fake 911 calls
Dec 19, 2009 (Greeley Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
A Lochbuie woman was arrested Friday by three police agencies that accused her of making
48 phony 911 calls in the past four months.
Caryn Sodaro, 44, was booked into the Weld County Jail. Officials said she made calls threatening suicide, asking for a police officer to shoot her or saying her mother was dying of a heart attack.
"It was difficult tracing the calls," said Weld County sheriff's spokesman Shane Scofield. "She was using a prepaid cell phone, where her name was never attached to the calls or billing. With the help of the phone company, we were finally able to track her down."
Scofield said the sheriff's office worked with the Fort Lupton and Lochbuie police to trace the calls, which were coming in to the Weld County dispatch center.
"At times, she said she had a gun and was going to shoot
herself, or jump off a bridge or jump in front of a train," Scofield said.
"We had officers rushing to the locations where she said she was, but nothing was found."
After the four-month investigation, they were able to trace the woman to the area of Interstate 76 and Lochbuie, and on Friday arrested her and served a search warrant on her house.
Scofield said the case has hints of a new crime, called "Swatting," in which callers try to send SWAT teams on phony reports to get police to go after an enemy. While none of the calls in this case required a SWAT team, Scofield said many officers responded to the calls for help.
"This meant a high cost for the response and time of the officers and deputies," Scofield said. "Not to mention the fact that officers responding to a phony call might not be able to respond to a real emergency."
Scofield said the motive for the calls wasn't clear.
Sodaro was booked on one felony -- attempting to influence a public official -- and two misdemeanors: false reporting and resisting arrest. At this time, she is being held without bond.
To see more of the Greeley Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.greeleytribune.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Greeley Tribune, Colo.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave.,
Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
TMCnet LOGIN
Webinars
