A Coquitlam teenager who allegedly made several false reports to a police force in Florida was arrested last week and is facing criminal charges.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be identified because he is a youth, has been charged with one count of extortion, three counts of mischief and one count of breach of recognizance. He is being held in custody until his next court appearance on Thursday, Dec. 18.
"This young man's criminal acts tied up police resources that could have been deployed to actual emergencies and severely impacted the sense of safety and security of everyone living in the communities of Winter Haven and Fort Meads," RCMP Sgt. Annie Linteau said in a press release. "False reports of critical incidents are very serious and potentially very dangerous. That's why police proceed with investigations against those involved."
A release from the Polk County Sheriff Office (PCSO) said the pranks took place in September and October of this year. In one of the incidents, the suspect allegedly told police he was going to drive to Fort Meade high school and shoot students.
A third call targeted a home in Winter Haven. Police dispatchers there were told by the suspect that he had just killed his parents at the home and would shoot any officers who arrived.
"Several law enforcement officers, including two canine units and the PCSO helicopter, immediately responded to the scene," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "When law enforcement officers arrived on scene, the juvenile witness located inside the home told the officers that the incident was a 'swat' hoax, and the detectives already assigned to the Fort Meade 'swatting' investigation added this incident to their ongoing investigation."
Swatting is a hoax intended to get the SWAT team to respond to an incident.
Polk County sheriffs contacted the Coquitlam RCMP's Major Crime Section on Nov. 16 to warn them that a youth in the area was responsible for three incidents. The RCMP said police on both sides of the border worked together on the investigation.
This is not the first brush with the law for the 17-year-old suspect.In a press release, the RCMP said the same youth pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal harassment in relation to an incident that occurred in North Vancouver in October 2013. He is also facing charges in an unrelated incident that occurred in Waterloo, Ont. in January of this year.
In both cases, the youth is said to have harassed young women he met online. He is expected to appear in court for a sentencing hearing related to those charges in January.
More to come...
