Hacker charged for fake SWAT call
A 19-year-old Washington state man faces a series of charges for triggering a Los Angeles-area SWAT team incident by telephone eight months ago.
The Orange County, Calif., Sheriff's Department said Randal Ellis, 19, of Mukilteo, Wash., faces charges of hacking into a telephone network to trick 911 dispatchers into sending the SWAT team to the home of a randomly selected family, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
On March 29, dispatchers received a call from the man saying he had killed someone in the house. The caller had hacked into telephone systems maintained by America Online and Verizon, which showed the actual phone number of the home on call display.
The SWAT team, backed up by a helicopter and police dogs, surrounded the house and handcuffed the owner in front of his wife and children before the prank was uncovered, police said.
Extradition proceedings began Tuesday, the newspaper said.
Ellis is charged with false imprisonment by violence and assault with an assault weapon by proxy, which, upon conviction carry a possible prison sentence of 18 years, prosecutors said. // Copyright 2007 by United Press International
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