Hayward Man Admits Making 30,000 Fake 911 Calls
A 45-year-old Hayward man admitted to police Wednesday he bombarded 911 with more than 30,000 prank calls over the last eight months, saying he made the calls "because it's free."
John Triplette was arrested Wednesday night at his Hayward apartment in the 24000 block of Amador St. Detectives traced the prank calls, made from a T-Mobile cell phone, to Triplette's residence, police said.
Triplette would reportedly greet emergency operators with grunting or bodily noises. At times, he would talk in disguised voices or press buttons randomly, apparently just to be annoying, police said.
"He completely overwhelmed our system," said Hayward Communications Center Manager Desi Calzada. "He delayed the answering of other 911 calls because we were answering his."
Hayward police and fire officials said they only began receiving Triplette's 911 calls since Jan. 8. Before then, all T-Mobile cell phone calls were being routed to the California Highway Patrol's communications center in Vallejo.
As soon as Hayward's communications center began taking T-Mobile calls, Triplette's prank dials flooded the lines. He called Hayward emergency operators over 1,300 times in one week, increasing the communication center's incoming call volume by 30 percent.
Overall, Hayward operators received more than 10,000 calls from Triplette.
Hayward Detective Bill Alexander investigated the calls and learned the CHP in Vallejo had received more than 17,000 calls from Triplette's cell phone since May 2007.
Alexander also discovered the Solano County Sheriff's Office got more than 4,000 calls from him in the same period.
Triplette's calls were traced to his Hayward apartment with help from Federal Communications Commission technology. Upon his arrest, Triplette apologized to officers for making the calls, police said.
Police were not amused.
"This cannot be tolerated," said Lt. Chris Orrey. "Abuse of the 911 system like this puts people's lives in jeopardy. You can bet that we will investigate and arrest anyone who does it."
A 45-year-old Hayward man admitted to police Wednesday he bombarded 911 with more than 30,000 prank calls over the last eight months, saying he made the calls "because it's free."
John Triplette was arrested Wednesday night at his Hayward apartment in the 24000 block of Amador St. Detectives traced the prank calls, made from a T-Mobile cell phone, to Triplette's residence, police said.
Triplette would reportedly greet emergency operators with grunting or bodily noises. At times, he would talk in disguised voices or press buttons randomly, apparently just to be annoying, police said.
"He completely overwhelmed our system," said Hayward Communications Center Manager Desi Calzada. "He delayed the answering of other 911 calls because we were answering his."
Hayward police and fire officials said they only began receiving Triplette's 911 calls since Jan. 8. Before then, all T-Mobile cell phone calls were being routed to the California Highway Patrol's communications center in Vallejo.
As soon as Hayward's communications center began taking T-Mobile calls, Triplette's prank dials flooded the lines. He called Hayward emergency operators over 1,300 times in one week, increasing the communication center's incoming call volume by 30 percent.
Overall, Hayward operators received more than 10,000 calls from Triplette.
Hayward Detective Bill Alexander investigated the calls and learned the CHP in Vallejo had received more than 17,000 calls from Triplette's cell phone since May 2007.
Alexander also discovered the Solano County Sheriff's Office got more than 4,000 calls from him in the same period.
Triplette's calls were traced to his Hayward apartment with help from Federal Communications Commission technology. Upon his arrest, Triplette apologized to officers for making the calls, police said.
Police were not amused.
"This cannot be tolerated," said Lt. Chris Orrey. "Abuse of the 911 system like this puts people's lives in jeopardy. You can bet that we will investigate and arrest anyone who does it."
San Fran Bay area source
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