Wireless Freeloader Charged Because He Never Bought Coffee

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Joe Touch <touch () ISI EDU>
Date: June 23, 2006 7:40:25 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: ip () v2 listbox com
Subject: Re: [IP] Wireless Freeloader Charged Because He Never Bought  
Coffee

Dave,

I was under the impression that 911 was for emergencies, not to call the
police for non-emergency response. 311 was created for non-emergency
response (approved by the FCC in 1997), though it seems not widely
deployed (http://www.911dispatch.com/info/311map.html)

Wouldn't the real illegal activity here be "911 misuse"? (a few places
seem to have classified this as a misdemeanor at least)

Joe

David Farber wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: eekid () aol com
> Date: June 23, 2006 3:23:20 PM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Subject: Wireless Freeloader Charged Because He Never Bought Coffee
>
> Wireless Freeloader Charged Because He Never Bought Coffee
> By Gregg Keizer
>
> Thu Jun 22, 6:32 PM ET
> A Vancouver, Wash. coffee shop tired of seeing a 20-year-old man mooch
> off their free wireless Internet access called the police, who charged
> him with "theft of services."
> if (window.yzq_a == null) document.write("<scr" + "ipt
> type=text/javascript
> src=http://us.js2.yimg.com/us.js.yimg.com/lib/bc/bc_1.7.3.js></scr" +
> "ipt>"); if (window.yzq_a) { yzq_a('p',
> 'P=t0cQB86.I3qsLBwDRJgrpApMg3q9TkScPtsAA.uN&T=1b8nosrjh%2fX% 
> 3d1151090395%2fE%3d42505016%2fR%3dnews%2fK%3d5%2fV%3d1.1%2fW%3d8%2fY 
> %3dYAHOO%2fF%3d2543493601%2fH% 
> 3dY2FjaGVoaW50PSJuZXdzIiBjb250ZW50PSJtYW47d2lyZWxlc3MgSW50ZXJuZXQ7cG9s 
> aWNlO0l0O2l0O3dpcmVsZXNzO2NyaW1lO25ldHdvcms7cmVmdXJsX3d3d190b3RhbGZhcm 
> tfY29tIiByZWZ1cmw9InJlZnVybF93d3dfdG90YWxmYXJrX2NvbSIgdG9waWNzPSJyZWZ1 
> cmxfd3d3X3RvdGFsZmFya19jb20i%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3d5D23BECE');
> yzq_a('a',
> '&U=13928ef5d%2fN%3dPGiWQs6.Iqg-%2fC% 
> 3d390764.8809309.9616847.1442997%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d3773653');
> }
> Brewed Awakenings employees dialed 911 after Alexander Eric Smith of
> Battle Ground, Wash. piggybacked off the shop's wireless Internet
> service for more than three months.
> "He doesn't buy anything," Emily Pranger, the shop's manager, told  
> KATU,
> a Portland, Ore. television station. "It's not right for him to  
> come and
> use it."
> Smith allegedly parked his truck in the parking lot to use Brewed
> Awakenings' wireless access.
> County deputies charged Smith with theft of services after  
> returning to
> the parking lot after they told him to stop. The crime, which covers
> such crimes as bypassing a utility meter, stealing cable, and  
> leaving a
> restaurant without paying, has been used in the past to prosecute
> hackers who have accessed a computer or network without paying for it.
> "It's something that is borderline creepy," Pranger said to KATU.
> The Clark County sheriff's office and its prosecutors are reviewing  
> the
> case, the television station's Web site noted.
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20060623/tc_cmp/189600746
> Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email
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>
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