New Rochelle, NY – A 19-year-old Tennessee man was taken into custody after investigators determined he made false 911 reports about a man carrying a gun, incidents that prompted police responses in Westchester County earlier this year.
The New Rochelle Police Department arrested Mikail Trinidad of Nashville on September 3, charging him with two counts of falsely reporting an incident in the second degree. He was also wanted on an outstanding warrant from New Jersey for a similar offense.
The charges stem from April 8 and May 12, when officers responded to anonymous calls describing a man hiding a firearm in a fanny pack near North Avenue and Lockwood Avenue. In both cases, police stopped the same man outside a Dollar Tree store and conducted searches that turned up no weapons. The man refused to identify himself but allowed officers to search him.
Investigators later determined the timing of the calls matched when the man was on his phone. Although the caller claimed to be following him, officers found he was alone each time. Attempts to re-establish contact with the caller after the stops were unsuccessful.
Detectives said evidence shows Trinidad either placed the calls himself or coordinated with someone else to trigger a police response. Authorities noted that he has a record of similar behavior.
Trinidad was arrested without incident and is being held on both the New York charges and the fugitive warrant out of New Jersey.
Officials emphasized that false emergency calls divert resources from genuine crises and put the public at risk.
Key Points
- Mikail Trinidad, 19, of Nashville, was arrested September 3 in New Rochelle.
- He allegedly made false 911 calls reporting a man with a gun on April 8 and May 12.
- Trinidad also faces an outstanding warrant in New Jersey for a similar offense.
Police say wasting emergency resources puts the entire community in danger.
