FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ) — Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 27-year-old Jesus Lopez-Zucilla of Fresno.
He’s accused of making a swatting call which is a fake 911 call.
Zucills faces a misdemeanor charge of making a false emergency report. He is also being held on two unrelated misdemeanor warrants.
The Sheriff’s Office says the fake 911 call came in around 11:30 p.m. on May 18th reporting there was a fight happening between around 20 people at a party.
Detectives say Zucilla reported one of the guests was armed with a large butcher knife and there were children in harms way.
Several deputies went to the house and found no fighting but rather a few people sitting around having a friendly conversation.
The group told deputies there was never any fight and allowed deputies to check with people inside the house.
Deputies showed the phone number used to call the dispatcher and one woman said it belonged to her ex-boyfriend, Jesus Zucilla.
Zucilla was located and arrested.
The term “Swatting” was coined to describe a prank call that attempts to draw a large police presence to a location where a major emergency is reportedly taking place. Once officers arrive, they find the caller intentionally gave an incorrect address in order to trigger a false response.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office takes Swatting incidents very seriously. Fake calls could result in innocent people getting hurt and also tie up valuable resources potentially needed for real emergencies. Deputies will work closely with the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office to see that Swatting suspects are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
