Man Suspected of Making 18,000 Crank 911 Calls

LOS ANGELES -- An East Los Angeles man has been arrested on suspicion of making more than 18,000 crank calls to 911.

The California Highway Patrol says 43-year-old Maurice Cruz was arrested at his home early Friday. He's accused of making harassing and annoying 911 calls over the course of six months using non-initialized cell phones, which made tracing his calls difficult.

Investigators from the CHP, with the assistance of the U.S. Secret Service, eventually tracked Cruz to his home. They also seized numerous cell phones and chargers during the arrest.

Cruz was booked for investigation of misusing a 911 emergency line and held on $5,000 bail.

In an unrelated case in Orange County, a man suspected of making more than 2,000 obscene calls to female dispatchers at local law enforcement agencies was taken into custody.