Dec. 20—A Dayton man who tried to get an elementary school to evacuate by lying about a 5-year-old having a firearm in his backpack was sentenced to probation.
Caleb Malik Murphy Sr., 24, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to swatting and identity fraud.
Swatting is the act of making a prank call to emergency services in order to bring a large police response to a particular address.
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Immediately following his plea, Judge Steven Dankof sentenced Murphy to up to five years of community sanctions. A misdemeanor inducing panic charge was dismissed, court records show.
Murphy called 911 around 9:20 a.m. Sept. 24 to report that a 5-year-old student at Emerson Academy had a gun in his backpack. Murphy is the child’s father but does not have custody. In the call, Murphy identified himself as the boy’s maternal uncle, according to an affidavit filed in Dayton Municipal Court.
Police responded to the school and determined the boy did not have a weapon.
Murphy called 911 again a little more than an hour later, saying that he was angry the school was not evacuated.
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When police arrested Murphy, he was in possession of the cellphone used to make the 911 calls, according to court records.
This was not the first time Murphy claimed his son had a gun. An affidavit stated that he “continues to make these same allegations multiple times with police having responded to the school and (the 5-year-old’s) residence.”
If he violates his probation, he faces up to 2 1/2 years in prison.
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