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2 Charged With Abusing 911 System In Separate Incidents

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TBO.com

Published: August 4, 2008

TAMPA - When Carlos Jose Gutierrez lost money in a slot machine at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino early this morning, deputies say he didn't just walk away.

He called 911. To report that a slot machine stole his money.

According to an affidavit:

Shortly after midnight, Gutierrez was told by dispatchers that the slot machine did not steal his money and that it was a crime to call 911 to report that it did.

After acknowledging that his call to 911 was wrong, Gutierrez left the casino and walked across the street.

Then he called 911 again to report that a slot machine stole his money.

This time, Gutierrez, 47, of 5613 Halifax Drive, was arrested and charged with making a false 911 call, a misdemeanor. Described in jail records as a self-employed investor, Gutierrez is being held at the Orient Road Jail with no bail set. He was on felony probation when arrested, according to jail records.

Gutierrez was the second Hillsborough County man arrested within 24 hours on charges of abusing the 911 system.

Early Sunday morning, deputies say that Randall Barry Wasden, 43, got into a dispute with his brother.

According to an affidavit:

When deputies arrived, Wasden, who was intoxicated, did not like the way deputies handled the situation.

So he called 911 five times within an hour.

Each time, he was belligerent and cursed at dispatchers, demanding that they send deputies to talk to him. The dispatchers told him to stop calling unless he had an actual emergency, and he told them he was just calling to get deputies to talk to him.

By the fifth call, Wasden got his wish.

Deputies returned to his home at 4221 Jent Ave. in Plant City at 2:40 a.m. Sunday and arrested him.

He was charged with misuse of the wireless 911 system, a misdemeanor, and released at 7:39 p.m. Sunday on $500 bail, according to jail records, which list Wasden as a welder.

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