Johnson City Man Charged in "Swatting" Cases

Bob Joseph/WNBF News [file][/caption]

"Swatting" has hit Broome County. A series bogus emergency calls to police to prompt the deployment of SWAT or other specialized units has resulted in the arrest of a Johnson City man.

Authorities say 21-year-old Zachery Constable of Crocker Avenue was arrested on Monday. He faces three felony counts of second-degree falsely reporting an incident. He also was charged with one misdemeanor count of third-degree falsely reporting an incident.

Investigators say on June 3, Johnson City police received fake calls reporting business and residential fires, shots fired and unlawful imprisonment. Vestal police also received a bogus call for emergency assistance.

Officers quickly determined all of the calls were false reports.

Johnson City detectives traced the false reports to a location on Crocker Avenue. That lead to the apprehension of Constable. He was issued appearance tickets for Johnson City village court, Vestal town court and Broome County court.

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