CHP busts man for making 18,000 prank calls to 9-1-1

Maurice Cruz made his first alleged prank call to 9-1-1 last August 27 at approximately 4:46 p.m. He placed the last of more than 18,000 calls this morning at about 2:35 — and then he was arrested, the California Highway Patrol says. From the CHP release:

Mr. Cruz illegally harassed and annoyed the Los Angeles Communications center by calling the 911 emergency lines over 18,000 times. Mr. Cruz made the calls utilizing a number of non-initialized cell phone handsets which made tracing his calls difficult.

Cruz, who is 43, lives in East Los Angeles. The U.s. Secret Service was in on the bust.