A Queens man has been convicted for calling 911 more than 52 times to report fake emergencies that included claims of police-involved shootings and a fire, prosecutors said.
Ronald DeShields, 41, of Jamaica, was convicted Wednesday on seven counts of second-degree falsely reporting an incident, nine counts of third-degree falsely reporting an incident and one-count of second-degree reckless endangerment, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. RELATED:Miami couple indicted inNewYorkfor roles in $2M cross-country identity theft scheme: DA Between Jan. 30, 2014 and Feb. 10, 2014 DeShields made those calls to 911 and stated there was an emergency at 89th Avenue and 161st Street, Brown said, citing trial testimony. The emergencies reported included police-involved shootings and a building fire with trapped residents. Following an investigation, DeShields was located with the phone used to make the calls and arrested. RELATED:Straphanger slashed by man asking for money at downtown Manhattan subway station: Police “Emergency responders rushed to the location where the defendant reported the emergencies, each and every time resulting in both a waste of time and resources,” Brown said in a statement. “The false calls also put lives at risk by preventing firefighters and other rescuers from responding to real emergencies.” This isn’t DeShield’s first run-in with the law, according to theNew York Daily News. His track record dates back to 1997 and reportedly includes instances of DeShields impersonating a FDNY marshal, a firefighter, a corrections officer and a peace officer. RELATED:Queens man charged with making series of fake 911 calls
Queens man convicted for calling 911 over 52 times: DA
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DeShields will be sentenced on May 3 for the 911 calls and could face 20 years in prison.
