Arrest for over 100 annoying and harassing calls and improper use 911

On Dec. 27, 2020, at about 5:30 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 3800 block of Walnut Drive, in the county’s jurisdiction of Eureka, to serve a Ramey Warrant for the improper use of 9-1-1.

The suspect, 67-year-old Magdeline Pereira, was wanted on charges of making annoying/harassing phone calls to 9-1-1 after making over 100 non-emergency calls to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office’s Emergency Communications Center via 9-1-1.

Pereira was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on 13 counts of annoying/harassing phone calls to 9-1-1 (PC 653X(A)).

The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public that utilizing 9-1-1 for non-emergency purposes, including to harass dispatchers, is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment in a county jail for up to six months, or both. While we recognize unintentional 9-1-1 calls do occasionally happen, often resulting in a verbal warning, abuse of the system is documented and will be forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

The public is encouraged to utilize the Sheriff’s Office Main Line, 707-445-7251, for all non-emergency calls.