Henderson man accused of serial 911 crank calls arrested
A Henderson man accused of crank calling Henderson 911 more than 3,600 times over the past year was arrested Wednesday night and accused of again tying up the emergency line with 59 hang-up calls on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Tuy Thai, 35, was booked into the Henderson Detention Center on Wednesday night on 59 counts of unlawful use of 911. He is being held on $59,000 bond.
In each instance, he is accused of calling 911 from his cellphone. When a dispatcher answered the call, the caller said nothing and then hung up. When the dispatcher called the number, no one answered.
Thai had been questioned in the past regarding the repeated calls to 911, and he has denied it or blamed it on others using his phone.
On Wednesday, Henderson detectives watched him to ensure that he was the one using the phone and that no one else had access to it.
Thai was pulled over after he left his house and was asked whether he had an emergency that required help.
Thai denied calling 911 and then later said his phone was broken and dialed 911 on its own.
Henderson 911 operators call back all disconnected calls to ensure that no one needs aid, Henderson police spokesman Keith Paul said.
He noted that hangups occur daily. But it’s usually just children and only happens once.
When the operator calls back, a parent usually answers, and it’s resolved, Paul said.
"Crank calls into 911 dispatch centers prevent people with real emergencies from getting through quicker," Henderson police Chief Patrick Moers said.
"When there is an emergency, every second can count, and fake calls can delay getting help to the people who really need it."
Thai faces up to a year in jail and up to a $2,000 fine for each count of unlawful use of 911, a gross misdemeanor.
Thai was arrested once in 2008 on burglary, forgery and domestic battery charges, said Paul, who didn’t have case details.
Contact reporter Trevon Milliard at tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.
