DOCUMENT: Bizarre, Crime

Cops: Man Dialed 911, Sought To Sell Egg Rolls

Tennessean placed 1100 emergency calls

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Egg Roll 911

SEPTEMBER 4--A Tennessee man called 911 more than 1100 times over the past six weeks, a prolific misuse of the emergency dispatch system that included the suspect asking a police operator “if they wanted to buy egg rolls,” according to a criminal complaint.

Investigators allege that Huu Nguyen, a 54-year-old Memphis resident, began dialing 911 from his cell phone in mid-July. By the time of his arrest yesterday, Nguyen had logged 1171 calls to 911, though he “did not have an emergency.”

On Tuesday, Nguyen called 911 241 times. On Wednesday, Nguyen placed 32 calls to the emergency number, one of which involved food: “The suspect asked the 911 Dispatcher if they wanted to buy egg rolls and then disconnected the line.”

Nguyen has several prior convictions for misusing the emergency dispatch system and has been branded a “habitual 911 abuser” by police.

Pictured above, Nguyen was arrested yesterday outside a Memphis building that is home to a Vietnamese restaurant and the Oriental Best Market. The criminal complaint does not indicate whether Nguyen has any connection to either business (or ready access to egg rolls).

Nguyen, whose iPhone was seized by police, was charged with making non-emergency phone calls to 911. He was released from the Shelby County jail on his own recognizance, and is scheduled for a November 20 hearing in the misdemeanor case. (1 page)