Charges were recently filed against an individual who made a fake 911 that led to the eventual shooting and death of an unarmed teenager in Pasadena, California. The teenager was fatally shot by the Pasadena police, according to reports from the coroner. Police encountered the teenager after responding to a call that there had been a robbery in the area. Tragically, the 911 call was a fake.
The individual who made the false call is now facing two misdemeanor charges for lying to an emergency dispatcher. For both counts, the individual could face up to 18 months in county jail. The defendant has pled “not guilty” which means that his case will move to a pretrial hearing in a matter of days. In a pretrial hearing, the defense attorney can call into question the evidence and the charges that are being brought against the defendant. If the defense counsel is successful in excluding evidence from the case, it may be dismissed and not go to trial due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
The Pasadena police requested that the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed manslaughter charges against the prank phone caller, but they declined and instead served him with the two misdemeanor charges. There was an internal review of the actions of the Pasadena police force on the night of the teenager’s shooting and death. The review revealed that the officers at the scene acted within the scope of police policy. According to this report, the police officers received a call that the two robbery suspects were running away from the robbery scene near Orange Grove and Fair Oaks Avenue, which is where they found the teenager running.
The report also revealed more details about the police phone call that initiated the shooting. The man who made the call claimed numerous times that the assailants (robbery suspects) threatened him with firearms. When the man was questioned later, he admitted that this was false, and he only said he was being threatened with guns to get the police to respond more quickly to the call. When the police arrived at the scene, they attempted to halt the teenager. When they did so, they noticed the teenager “clutching his waistband” and then proceeded to “charge” toward police. It was then that Pasadena police shot and killed him. The investigation revealed that the teenager was not armed.
Lying to the police is a misdemeanor offense, as is shown in this case. One of the factors that the 911-caller’s case will go over is “what was the intent behind lying to police?” The caller admitted that yes, he did lie to the police repeatedly. However, he did this in order to get the police on the scene more quickly and apprehend the alleged robber. This case has not yet moved to trial, so it is unclear what the result will be. If you have been arrested for lying to an authority, secure strong defense from a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, like those at our firm.
