Tag Archives: Roger Martin
Fairhaven man sentenced for making hoax distress calls to U.S. Coast Guard
A Fairhaven man was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with sending three false distress messages to the U.S. Coast Guard over the radio. Roger Martin, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to one year of probation and ordered to pay $7,182 in restitution to the U.S. Coast Guard. In August 2016, Martin pleaded guilty to three counts of sending false distress messages to the U.S. Coast Guard and one count of identity fraud. Martin, in three separate calls, claimed that he was on a boat in the Cape Cod Canal that was sinking. During the calls he impersonated a resident of Fairhaven, providing a name, street address and, on one occasion, date of birth. Martin had obtained the date of birth through the improper use of a law enforcement database through his former employment as a Bristol Country Sheriff’s dispatcher. In response to the calls, the U.S. Coast Guard and local law enforcement expended resources ascertaining that there was no true emergency and attempting to track down the hoax caller. Link 12:57
Massachusetts man pleads guilty to making hoax distress calls to Coast Guard
A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty to making hoax radio distress calls to the Coast Guard that prompted fruitless searches that wasted time and resources. Prosecutors say 47-year-old Roger Martin, of Fairhaven, made three calls to the Coast Guard in April and May 2015 claiming that he was on a boat on Cape Cod Canal that was sinking. In each case he provided another man’s name, address, and on one occasion, even birth date, that he had obtained improperly from a law enforcement database while working as a dispatcher for the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office. Martin pleaded guilty this week in federal court to three counts of sending false distress messages and one count of identity fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 22. link 14:03
