Man called 911 for months to report people in danger – but it was a hoax, MS police say
A Mississippi man suspected in a series of bogus 911 calls has been arrested and charged, according to the Oxford Police Department.
Thomas Lee Jr., 23, of Pope called the emergency line for months claiming someone was critically hurt or in danger, police said in a Sept. 19 news release. Authorities responded to the reports only to find out they were fake.
Lee was booked on multiple counts of abusive call to emergency telephone service, according to authorities. He appeared before a judge who set his bond at $10,000, police said.
Lee was also served a felony warrant with the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
A woman from Pinellas County, Florida, was jailed on a similar charge in August after authorities said she called 911 more than 11,000 times this year to verbally harass, berate and hurl obscenities at St. Petersburg Police Department emergency operators, McClatchy News reported.
Oxford police did not say how many times Lee dialed 911 or how long the phony reports lasted.
It’s unclear if he remained in jail as of Tuesday, Sept. 20.
Pope is about 70 miles south of Memphis.
This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Man called 911 for months to report people in danger – but it was a hoax, MS police say."