Christmas crank caller who laughed at Leeds police given another chance to prove himself
A prank caller who called police six times over Christmas claiming there was a man with a gun, has avoided custody again after breaching a suspended sentence.
Elmi Abdi Ali laughed when officers rushed to his home between the morning of Christmas Day last year and Boxing Day evening last year. The 37-year-old was told in February by Judge Penelope Belcher that if he stayed out of trouble for six months, she would not lock him up.
But he returned to Leeds Crown Court this week where he admitted missing two days of appointments with probation on June 26 and July 12. This put him in breach of an suspended sentence order he previously received for possessing a bladed article in August of last year.
His barrister, Edison Flint, said that Ali had completed the 100 hours unpaid work part of that sentence and had re-engaged with probation. He said: “He has, in the main, complied. He has had mental health problems. He now understands it’s no good not attending [probation appointments] and then trying to provide an excuse.
“He needs to say beforehand that he is unable to come in.”
The court previously heard that Ali began making 999 calls at around 7.35am on Christmas Day last year suggesting a gunman was in his home, was threatening to kill him and another saying the gunman was banging on his door.
Officers attended his address on Trentham Street, Beeston, and found him to be heavily intoxicated. They warned him about making the calls but he made another three thereafter that day.
He resumed dialling the next day and police were deployed again. He made further calls before they arrived and bizarrely told one operator: "I love you." He also said he had been kidnapped and wanted armed police to attend.
When the officers arrived he was laughing, finding it "quite amusing". He then gave a no-comment interview having been arrested. He has 19 previous convictions for 26 offences.
He later admitted making making calls to cause annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety.
Judge Belcher told him this week: “I explained how wholly unacceptable these calls were. You were obviously in drunk and found it very funny. You were messing about, ringing up and making up stories. On the face of it, I should send you to immediate custody.”
However, she took into account the completion of the unpaid work. She gave him a 12-month community order for the crank calls, a six-month alcohol monitoring requirement and gave him an extra five days of probation appointments.