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Bogus 911 caller gets time in jail, probation By CHRIS BRISTOL A former White City man admitted in court that he reported a phony abduction-in-progress last year to divert the police from impounding a buddy's rig. Randy Lee Carson, 27, pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor charge of improper use of 911 and was placed on two years of probation for his role in the caper, which unraveled thanks to the detective work of one of the deceived officers. According to prosecutors, Oregon State Police trooper Joey Pollard eventually identified Carson as the man who called 911 early in the morning of Oct. 11 from a pay phone near the Gold Hill Hotel. "I'd like to report a guy holding a gun to a lady's head," the caller said, according to a transcript of the dispatch tape, "and they are just now pulling ... They are in a little red Subaru." At the time, Pollard was preparing to cite a motorist only a few blocks away for driving suspended and to impound his truck. "She's screaming," the caller frantically told the dispatcher. "OK. His friends are coming back at me like they're ... I'm going to get out of here. Bye." Pollard and several other officers, including two Jackson County sheriff's deputies, raced to the hotel, where all was quiet. They realized they'd been duped. But Pollard refused to let it go at that. Within weeks, Pollard had identified Carson as the suspect. In exchange for Carson's plea on the 911 charge, Deputy District Attorney Debbie Minder dropped a misdemeanor charge of initiating a false report. Carson also was fined $310 in court costs and sentenced to time-served (17 days) in jail. Minder told Judge Patricia Crain that Carson had prior convictions that indicated he suffers from mental problems. Even so, she warned, "The way he pulled this off, he may be a bit cagier than we think." Carson has since moved out of the area. Through his public defender, he claims his pal in the truck was the one who put him up to it. Nevertheless, says Minder, "You can't cry wolf on stuff like that, even to help your friends. "It's like calling the fire department to a fire that's nonexistent," she added. "When you're playing around with 911, that's pretty serious." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA