Man called 911 twice for ride to Miami

A man in Boynton Beach, Florida called 911 twice claiming that someone was trying to kill him -- so he could get a ride to Miami.

Jose Rodrigues was arrested Monday morning on a charge of giving false information to a law enforcement officer. Rodrigues called 911 claiming that someone was trying to kill him. When police arrived in the area of Interstate 95 where the call was placed, they didn't find anyone and left.

About 15 minutes later, Rodrigues called 911 again. When officers arrived this time, they found a man leaning against a concrete divider wall on I-95. The man, whom police identified as Rodrigues, said he needed to go home. Rodrigues said two men put a hood over his head, tied a rope around his hands, forced him into a car and drove him to that location.

Officers noticed a disabled vehicle in a northbound I-95 lane and spoke with the driver, who said his car broke down and that he had a passenger who "got tired of waiting for a ride and walked away from the car."

Rodrigues later admitted that he just wanted a ride to Miami, police said. (info from WPBF.com)

Women made phony 911 call to commit burglary

Two women in Santa Fe, Texas faked a 911 call so they could burglarize an Emergency Medical Services ("EMS") station.

Paramedics were dispatched after a report of a man needing an ambulance. While no one was at the station, the two women, both former EMS employees, broke into the building and started burglarizing it.

The women were caught red-handed when the ambulance returned. Amanda Grigg and Heather Bemrose face several charges, including burglary and making a false 911 call. (info from KTRK-TV)

Help Haiti!

Haiti shares the island of Hispanola with the more prosperous Dominican Republic. The island is between Cuba and Puerto Rico. Christopher Columbus visited the island in 1492 and founded settlements.

Even during the best of times, Haiti has been a miserable place to live.

Its people suffered as slaves under French colonists, and after revolting and becoming "free," the country was known for turmoil and frequent government takeovers. The United States occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934.

In 1937 Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo ordered the Dominican Army to kill Haitians living on the Dominican side of the border.

Later in the 20th Century, Haitians suffered again under the brutal and corrupt regimes of "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his slightly nicer son "Baby Doc."

Haiti is home to a proud people with a rich culture and important history, but the country is pathetically poor, with a very low literacy rate and one of the worst living standards in the world. Many Haitians left the country.

Haiti was the first independent nation in Latin America, the first post-colonial independent black-led nation in the world, and the only nation whose independence was gained as part of a successful slave rebellion. Haiti is the only predominantly French-speaking independent nation in the Western Hemisphers, and one of just two (with Canada) that designate French as an official language

And now, an earthquake has caused thousands of poorly made buildings to collapes, killing as-yet-uncounted tens of thousands of people.

President Obama, the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense have changed their schedules to deal with the crisis. I changed my blogging schedule to ask readers to donate some money to help, and to encourage others to donate, too.

Google has made it easy to make a donation to help the people of Haiti. Please CLICK to give, and post this information wherever you can.

(Some info above came from Wikipedia)

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Drunk shooter called 911 and was arrested

Two people in Breedsville, Michigan were jailed after a late-night shooting incident. There were no injuries but there was bullet damage to the floor of their home.

Officers responded to a 911 call reporting a person being shot. They determined that no one had been shot, but a gun had been fired five times. The cops learned that the 911 caller had been in possession of the gun while intoxicated.

The caller resisted arrest and had to be subdued by several officers. Another person at the house had fired the rounds and was also intoxicated.

Breath tests at the scene indicated both had more than twice the legal limit for driving while intoxicated.

Police seized a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum handgun. One person was booked for firearm possession while intoxicated and resisting and obstructing a police officer. The other was booked for firearm possession while intoxicated and reckless discharge of a firearm. (info from http://www.heraldpalladium.com)

Drunk jailed for multiple false 911 calls

A man in Jacksonville, Florida called 911 because his arm hurt, and ended up in jail, not the hospital.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Reginald Higgins called 911, and was angry when the rescue unit that responded told him he didn't need a ride to the hospital. An officer said Higgins appeared intoxicated and slurred his speech as he spewed profanity at the officer and told him to leave.

When Higgins told the officer that he was going to call 911 again and request a different ambulance, the officer advised him not to do it. He did anyway -- four times. Higgins was arrested and charged with making false 911 calls.

(info from First Coast News)

Kid's mother called 911 because of his game playing

Boston police say a frustrated woman called 911 because she couldn't get her 14-year-old son to stop playing the Grand Theft Auto video game and go to sleep.

Officer Joe Zanoli recently said the mother called for help around 2:30 a.m. on a Saturday to say that the teenager also walked around the house and turned on all the lights.

Two officers  responded to the call and persuaded the boy to obey his mother.

Zanoli says the mother's 911 call over video game obsession "was a little unusual, but by no means is it surprising..."(info from The Boston Herald)

Wacko woman arrested for 48 phony 911 calls

Caryn Sodaro of Lochbuie, Colorado was arrested recently following a four-month investigation. Police say she made 48 phony 911 calls threatening suicide, asking police to shoot her and claiming that her mother was dying of a heart attack.

Weld County sheriff's spokesman Shane Scofield says the woman used a prepaid cellphone that didn't have a name registered to it. With the help of the phone company, investigators were able to trace the calls to Lochbuie, about 18 miles north of Denver.

Sodaro was being held without bail on suspicion of attempting to influence a public official, a felony, and two misdemeanor offenses of false reporting and resisting arrest. (info from Colorado Connection.)