A man who placed a series of calls to police requesting emergency assistance over several months stating that he had taken the life of his wife and daughter, and which turned out to be false, has been arrested.
Robert Madison Brooks, 21, of Blue Water Edge Drive in Eustis was arrested on Thursday and charged with filing a false police report involving a capital felony crime, a third degree felony.
Police said that on August 17, detectives responded to the area of 132 E. Blue Water Edge Drive in response to an emergency call for service. The person requesting emergency assistance stated to dispatch officers that he had killed his wife and daughter, and was in the process of going upstairs to “fix” his infant child.
An extensive amount of emergency resources were utilized to include over 35 officers, a helicopter, a S.W.A.T. team, a negotiations team, and a command center. After an extensive investigation, it was determined that the emergency call for service was in fact a hoax.
Police learned that a similar incident had occurred previously within the jurisdiction of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office earlier this year. Detectives with the Seminole County Sheriff’s office and detectives from the Eustis Police Department worked together in a joint investigation, which developed positive leads and witnesses. During the joint investigation, an additional hoax call was made within the jurisdiction of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. All three hoax calls were very similar in nature, and were believed to be linked to each other.
On September 1, with sufficient information and a search warrant in hand, Eustis detectives conducted a search of the suspect’s home and seized several computers.
Brooks was developed as a suspect in the false reports. He was interviewed on Thursday, September 2, by Eustis and Seminole County detectives and admitted to his involvement in the hoax call crimes.
Brooks was placed into custody and charged with filing a false police report involving a capital felony crime. He has also been charged with violation of probation, due to a previous charge of domestic violence where he was placed on probation in June 2010.
Criminal charges from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office are pending.
