Man Busted for 27,000 911 Calls

Prankster, who made bodily noises, did it 'because it's free'
By Will McCahill,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 16, 2008 7:06 AM CST
Man Busted for 27,000 911 Calls
A Hayward, Calif., man was arrested Wednesday for making 27,000 cell-phone calls to 911 since last May. John Triplette told police he made the calls%u2014during which he mimicked bodily noises, talked in a disguised voice and used the keypad to making beeping noises%u2014"because it's free."(AP Photo/Ben...   (Associated Press)

Police in a San Francisco suburb finally got their man—but only after he made 27,000 prank 911 calls, often treating the operators to grunts and his impressions of bodily noises. John Triplette "completely overwhelmed our system," police tell the San Francisco Chronicle. Why did this criminal mastermind do it? "Because it's free," Triplette told police.

Police in Hayward, Calif., turned to the FCC for help in tracking down the cell phone making the calls, which began last May. Triplette, 45, now faces six months in jail (without a cell phone) and/or a $1,000 fine on a misdemeanor charge of abusing the emergency line.  No word on whether he was allowed a call after his arrest Wednesday night. (More cell phones stories.)

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