Williamsburg man sentenced for making false 911 calls

December 4, 2014 Associated Press

Kenneth Thompson. Eagle YouTube screenshot

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A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to six months in jail for making false 911 calls of emergencies in his Williamsburg neighborhood.

Louis Segna was convicted in August of three counts of falsely reporting an incident.

Police said in one call Segna told 911 operators there were sounds of explosions in a subway tunnel. In another call he said someone was in a van with a gun.

The New York Times says police figured out who the caller was because a commander reviewing a tape of one call recognized his voice. Segna was a regular at the 94th Precinct Community Council.

“By repeatedly making fake 911 calls, the defendant caused police officers to respond to his bogus claims, putting the lives and safety of people with real emergencies in jeopardy,” Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson said in a released statement. “This is no joke, and he will now pay the price for his dangerous conduct.”

No one was injured because of the calls.

According to news reports, Segna was irked by the noises coming from the coffeeshop Kontidori that occupied the first floor of Segna’s building in Williamsburg.

Segna’s lawyer says his client has been voluntarily attending a counseling program and also noted that Segna is “developmentally delayed.”

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice William Harrington, who did not address Segna’s alleged mental disability, noted, “I don’t think he had the firmest grasp of what he unleashed when he made these phone calls.”

“Thankfully no police officers or firefighters were injured,” the judge said.

Segna is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 22 to face criminal charges brought by Kontidori for violating an order of protection. It is being reported that Segna will face no additional jail time.

-Charisma L. Troiano, Esq., Brooklyn Daily Eagle, contributing