Woman made 999 distraction call.
A 28-year-old Tempo woman who attempted to get into a Enniskillen pub after closing time by making a fake 999 call to divert police attention has been handed a community service order.
Marnie Crawford, of Feddan Road, pleaded guilty to obstructing police by claiming there was an ongoing fight in the Diamond, however this transpired to be false. She was ordered to carry out 40 hours of community service.
A prosecutor outlined to the court that on June 20, 2011, at around 12.15am, police were parked outside the Cornerstone Bar. They were speaking to a member of the public when a male and the defendant arrived in a taxi.
Police spotted the pair outside the bar and thought that they were waiting for police to leave so they could get inside after hours. All the bars were closed when officers heard Crawford say she knew how to get rid of police by calling 999 and stating a fight was going on in the Diamond area.
Police saw her raise the phone to her ear and heard her saying to the operator there was a fight in the Diamond area and for police to attend. Police received a radio message to attend a fight in the area. However, they spoke to the defendant and asked if she had rang 999.
She initially denied the offence, however later admitted to making the phone call saying there was no fight in the Diamond that she knew of. On June 23, she went to Enniskillen Police Station where she fully admitted making the phone call to get police out of the area so they could get in to the bar.
She also admitted that there was no fight she was aware of.
She said she had taken alcohol at the time and was apologetic during the interview. District Judge Nigel Broderick questioned why it had taken four years for it to get to court. Defence solicitor David Buchanan said there was no excusing the “reckless and foolish endeavour”.
He added: “This offence happened almost four years ago and it is with dread and remorse when she looks back on this.
“She has been assessed as being a low likelihood of reoffending and she has matured greatly since this incident. She has a son and is a carer of her disabled brother. “She is fully aware of the seriousness of this situation and that a genuine accident could have happened.”
District Judge Nigel Broderick referred to the report’s author who stated that the defendant accepted that police resources were wasted and could have been taken away from a real accident.
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