By Chuck Brittain, Tribune-Review
Original publication date: July 1, 2011

Greensburg, PA: A Fayette County judge Thursday ordered a Uniontown man to serve time in jail for making prank calls to the county’s 911 system over a span of several months.

Judge Conrad B. Capuzzi sentenced Richard Crossland, 49, of 335 Evans St. to 11 1/2 to 23 months in prison for making four prank calls from November to January, when he was caught by police.

Capuzzi told Crossland that he was imposing jail time in part for the “protection of the public.”

“You are in need of corrective treatment,” Capuzzi said.

The judge also ordered Crossland to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Crossland pleaded guilty to four counts of false alarms to public safety agencies and fictitious reports, two counts of recklessly endangering another person and a single count of criminal mischief in four separate incidents. Capuzzi ordered identical sentences for charges connected with each of the incidents and ordered that they be served concurrently.

Crossland sat silently throughout the brief sentencing hearing.

Uniontown police filed charges in January after Crossland made four prank calls. In one, he used an alias and reported he was involved in a domestic situation with his son and a gun; in another, he reported there had been a shooting in a North Gallatin Avenue bar; in a third, he claimed that he had shot his wife; and in the fourth call, he said there was a hostage situation at a residence along Connellsville Street.

Police eventually identified Crossland as a suspect by working with Verizon Wireless officials to trace phone records. Police also received several anonymous tips that aided their investigation.

Capuzzi gave Crossland credit for time served. The defendant has been in jail since his arrest in January.

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