Jurors Hear Prank 911 Calls In Trial Of Former Mayoral Candidate
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Jurors in the trial of a former candidate for Pittsburgh mayor on Thursday heard some of the 911 calls that are the subject of his ongoing conspiracy trial.
Prosecutors claim former mayoral candidate A.J. Richardson orchestrated the series of prank calls to 911, some of which were allegedly made by his kids. The incidents cost the city thousands of dollars.
Police testified that they identified some of the calls as being made by Richardson's children.
Sometimes the calls were cryptic:
Dispatcher: "Allegheny County 911. What is the address of your emergency?"
Caller: "Help me, please help me."
Dispatcher: "What is your address?"
Caller: "3056 Bergman"
Sometimes the calls sounded life-threatening.
Dispatcher: "Ma'am, I can't hear you."
Caller: "Please, help me."
Dispatcher: "What's going on there?"
Caller: "I'm dying."
Dispatcher: "You're dying? What's your address?"
In each case, Pittsburgh Police had to respond.
Sometimes the caller claimed to be Richardson's wife, Felicia, but in one call, police testified the caller was one of her younger sons.
Dispatcher: "All right Felicia, tell me what's going on? Tell me exactly what happened?"
Caller: "My husband is beating everyone in the house. And even me."
Dispatcher: "Husband? He's beating everyone?"
Caller: "My husband is beating my children because they got a bad grade in school."
Dispatcher: "All right, all right. Hold on, just stay on the line with me. Stay on the line."
But often, when police came, they were confronted by A.J. Richardson who claimed he was being harassed by police. He recorded and posted many of those confrontations.
The defense says there's no evidence Richardson conspired to orchestrate what his children did, but prosecutors argue he was often present while the calls were made.
Among those who took the stand Thursday were then-Zone 6 Commander Scott Schubert who testified police developed a specific protocol just for handling calls at the Richardson home.
The prosecution may not wrap up its case until late next week at the earliest.
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