The gunmen were fake, but the charges against the 18-year-old accused of falsely reporting them in three towns are very real.
Joseph Otto, 18, of White Township, is accused of calling 911 with false reports of gunmen in at least three Warren County municipalities. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Joseph Otto faces a third round of charges filed this week alleging he called 911 to say a man with a gun had entered a store, this time a QuickChek in Washington Township on Dec. 7.
Otto, of the 100 block of Windtryst Way in White Township, was previously charged in December with making similar calls at the Wal-Mart on Route 22 in Pohatcong Township and Skoogy’s Deli in Belvidere.
Pohatcong police Sgt. Scott Robb previously said that Otto told them why he made the calls: “He said it was boredom.”
“He would sit in his vehicle, make the phone call, observe the police activity,” Robb said. “At no time was there a man with a gun, nor did he want there to be a man with a gun. He did it so he had something to do.”
Authorities said a cellphone provider helped trace the calls back to Otto.
3 homicide trials pending in Warren County
In the Washington Township case, Otto is charged with one count each of creating a false public alarm, making false reports to law enforcement and misuse of 911.
That’s in addition to one count each of misuse of 911 and making a false report to law enforcement in the Belvidere case and four counts each of those charges, plus four counts of creating a false public alarm from Pohatcong.
The most serious charges carry a potential sentence of three to five years in prison.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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