Author Topic: GTA in the news (Read 223 times)

smerlus · « **on:** May 26, 2004, 09:46:06 PM »

Bomb scare blamed on Grand Theft Auto

Florida man says his telephone bomb threat was just shouted advice on how to play the Rockstar game.
As anyone who's ever watched Cops knows, many people who are arrested claim they're the victim of some sort of mix-up. But Anthony S. Jones of Jacksonville, Florida, had a truly unique excuse when he was picked up for phoning in a bomb threat to the restaurant where he worked.

According to an article in the Florida-Times Union, Jones was on the phone with a co-worker when he shouted the following words into the phone: "There's a bomb in the building! There's a bomb in the building! Everyone needs to get out!" Rattled, the co-worker hung up and informed the manager, who evacuated the restaurant. After the police found no explosives in the restaurant, they "used a call-return feature" to trace the call to Jones.

When police arrived on his doorstep, Jones admitted he said the threatening words while on the phone--but not the person on the other end of the line. He claimed that he was merely shouting advice to a "child" playing "the game Grand Theft Auto" (presumably Vice City) while on the line with a coworker.

Although the Union article raises more questions than it answers--Did Jones identify himself when he made the call? If so, why would Police need to trace the call? Didn't his coworker recognize his voice? Did he have a beef with his work? Why was he helping a child play the M-rated GTA?--the outcome of the incident is clear. Jones is currently in jail on a $5,003 bond, and will face up to 15 years in jail if convicted.