Pa. Man Charged With Making False Emergency Frequency Broadcasts

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HASTINGS, Pa. (AP) - A man has been charged with using a hand-held radio to make unauthorized broadcasts over a Pennsylvania county's emergency services frequencies.

Twenty-one-year-old Nathan Planell of Hastings is charged with making false alarms to agencies of public safety and false reports to law enforcement authorities.

Prosecutors in Cambria County allege that he used the radio to make "several false reports of traffic stops and registration checks" and called out several emergency codes within the county prison.

County 911 coordinator Robbin Melnyk said earlier that 38 false transmissions were made Thursday and Friday, mostly early in the morning between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m.

Authorities said Planell was in custody on a probation violation; a listed number for him couldn't be found Sunday and it's unclear whether he has an attorney.

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