Phony Police Radio Calls Bring Arrest of Youth, 18

A teen-age security guard was arrested Sunday after he allegedly broadcast phony distress calls over a stolen Los Angeles police radio, setting off a scramble to determine whether an anti-gang officer was being attacked with bottles.

The arrest, in Arleta, followed a series of fake radio transmissions in recent days. Officers were diverted from real calls in the San Fernando Valley and conducted a massive search with helicopters and police cars after they got a phony report that a Wilshire Division officer had been wounded.

The hoax calls cost the city thousands of dollars, police officials said, and prompted them to try to screen out calls from two hand-held radios that were taken last month from the police station in Pacoima.

Suspicious Calls

In the latest incident, Foothill Division officers heard an emergency call go out about 2:30 a.m. Sunday that an officer working with CRASH--the Police Department’s anti-gang unit--needed assistance at Arleta Avenue and Kagel Canyon Street.

“The way it was communicated was very suspicious,” said Officer Kenneth Zoutte, “and we had had a large number of phony calls in the last few days.”

Acting on a hunch that the caller was nearby, Sgt. Sol Polen went to an area near Chase Street and Canterbury Avenue and contacted the caller on a police tactical frequency. Officers Mark Ellis and James Brousseau then arrived by another route and began a search.

The officers spotted Kevin David Guzman, 18, stepping out from behind some bushes.

A Pinkerton security guard, Guzman was carrying security badges and handcuffs. A further search of the area turned up two hand-held police radios.

Guzman, who lives nearby, was booked on suspicion of receiving stolen property, a felony. He also faces possible misdemeanor charges of interfering with police because of the hoax broadcasts.

Zoutte said police were trying to determine whether a second suspect was responsible for the theft of one radio.

Thefts From Cars

The radios were taken from police cars parked at the Foothill Division station in Pacoima. One disappeared Jan. 17 from a homicide detective’s car and the other was stolen Jan. 20 from a Metropolitan Division car parked in the same lot, Zoutte said.

Since then, officers have heard numerous fake calls over restricted police frequencies.

Zoutte said investigators believe Guzman was responsible for broadcasting a phony distress call Thursday night in which an officer was heard to say: “I’m hit!” The incident caused an anxious radio roll call to see if any officers from Foothill or North Hollywood divisions were in trouble.

Police also are trying to determine whether Guzman, in an earlier broadcast in Wilshire Division, used police lingo to report an officer down and in need of help.

Neighborhood Scoured

Two dozen officers, two helicopters and special K-9 units scoured a Mid-City neighborhood for more than 90 minutes before determining it was a hoax.