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Queens man charged with making series of fake 911 calls – Metro US

Queens man charged with making series of fake 911 calls

Queens man charged with making series of fake 911 calls
Frédéric BISSON/Flickr

A Queens man now faces various charges stemming from accusations he made more than 30 fake calls to 911.

Kenneth Campbell, 47, of Briarwood, allegedly made the series of false alarm calls between Feb. 12 and March 16, reporting everything from the smell of gas or smoke and electrical fires to elderly people falling and women going into labor, District Attorney Richard A. Brown stated.

The defendant would allegedly change the sound of his voice or use other people’s phones and a nearby payphone when making the calls, the DA added.

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“In more than 30 instances, emergency responders rushed to the defendant’s apartment building, resulting in both a waste of time and resources,” Brown said in a statement.

Campbell has been charged with 29 various counts of falsely reporting an incident as well as five counts of making terroristic threats, the district attorney’s office stated, adding that he called 911 five times on March 9 to report bomb-related scenarios.

In one call, Campbell allegedly claimed in a fake Arabic accent that he had a bomb and was sitting with Saddam Hussein, a source told the New York Daily News. Campbell reportedly spoke in fake Arabic during the call.

“The false calls could have also put lives at risk by preventing firefighters and other rescuers from responding to real emergencies,” DA Brown stated.

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According to the criminal complaint referenced by the district attorney, Campbell said, “My uncle is verbally abusive to me, and the sound of sirens calms him down.”

Campbell’s bail was set at $20,000, and his next court appearance has been scheduled for April 7. He faces a possibility of seven years in prison if convicted, the DA added.