Felony Prank Phone Call Ends in Dismissal
Apr 06, 2018OUTCOME: case against her client was dismissed
Not long ago, the Roanoke criminal defense lawyers with Copenhaver, Ellett & Derrico assisted a young man and his family, when some strange accusations and charges almost ended with a felony conviction ... . Apparently, a local government office received a threatening phone call. After the investigation revealed the source to be a cell phone – belonging to a developmentally challenged young man, he was suddenly exposed to a very serious criminal offense. The young man’s parents contacted attorney Michelle Derrico, who immediately set to work. After an exhaustive investigation of the phone records and conferring with experts, it became clear that while the threatening call appeared to originate from the man’s phone, there was no record of this phone making the call. This led to attorney Derrico arguing that a computer program was used to “spoof” or disguise the true prank caller’s number. By presenting her findings, her diligence paid off, and the case against her client was dismissed, excusing him from further concern.
