An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

[WoodRust]

Wonder if the twit still thinks it was funny?<br /><br />From MarineToday.com....<br /><br />3/9/04 at 9:23:AM<br /><br /> John McKay, United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, Rear Adm. Jeffrey M. Garrett, Commander, Thirteenth Coast Guard District, and Russell Barker, Special Agent in Charge of the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Northwest Region, announced that today, the Honorable Franklin D. Burgess, United States District Judge of the Western Washington District of Washington, sentenced JAMES GARRETT BALDWIN, age 31, of Aberdeen, Wash., in Federal District Court to twelve months and one day's imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release for one count of Communicating a False Distress Message to the United States Coast Guard. The court also ordered Baldwin to pay $194,587 in restitution to the U.S. Coast Guard.<br /><br />On July 10, 2003, Baldwin pleaded guilty to communicating a false distress message to the U.S. Coast Guard, as set forth in the indictment. On November 19, 2002, U.S. Coast Guard Group Astoria, Ore., responded to a radio distress call from a person claiming that he and his crew were abandoning a vessel taking on water at the entrance to John's River, Wash. The Coast Guard dispatched a HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, a 47-foot motor lifeboat and a 23-foot utility boat, and searched the area in severe weather conditions for more than 15 hours, before concluding the distress call was false. As a result of responding to this distress call, the Coast Guard incurred costs of $194,587. The matter was investigated by agents of the Coast Guard Investigative Service, with assistance from the Washington State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Lulejian and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Kennedy, Thirteenth Coast Guard District Legal Office, prosecuted this case.

 

[LadyFish]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

Nothing makes me more angry than this type of stunt. People who find this amusing deserve the worst. Pranks like this keep rescuers from saving the lives of those who are really in distress. <br /><br />Throw the book at 'em.

 

[OBJ]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

Couldn't agree more LF. I think he got off to easy.

 

[Peter J Fraser]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

At least they got the SOB. Too often the culprit's are not found. Hope he has learn't his lesson now.<br /><br />Peter

 

[Carphunter]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

Since the Coast guard was already there, they should've went ahead and sunk the boat. At least that way it wouldn't be a false alarm.

 

[Peter J Fraser]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

Thatb would be a justafiable exercize. <br />"Boat blew up and when we got there we could find no survivors sir"<br /><br />If only<br /><br />Peter

 

[lund17]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

$194,587.00 He'll probably never pay. Why not jail time for this. As LF says this diverts manpower from people who may relly need it. What if someone died because the Jayhawk that they were waiting for was on a wild goose chase

 

[Jwill]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

$194,587.00 for 15 hours of searching.<br />Man the goverment is inefficient.

 

[ebbtide176]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

the story listed he is getting jail time, 1yr+1day, and the $194k fine. yeah, he'll probably take forever to pay it, but i bet it will be garnished from his pay whether he likes it or not <br /><br />they couldn't sink his boat, it was not found. and i guess paying manhours, fuel & hazardous duty really adds up when we're talking about 2 big boats & a chopper <br /><br />they should have been able to bend him over the court bench and give him a few kicks in the rump too

 

[NathanY]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

If he and his boat where not there, how did they find him? Maybe he gave out his call numbers or something?

 

[ezbtr]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

"woodrust" how are you? aren't all these "non-issues" that can be bought and replaced though?

 

[TwoBallScrewBall]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

Yeah it'd be cool if they mentioned how they tracked him down. Good thing there wasn't a real emergency while this idiot had the troops out looking for a ghost.

 

[jtexas]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

Somebody with his intelligence wouldn't be able to resist the temptation to brag about it, probably loudly and in a local bar where friends & relatives of rescue workers or even just ordinary iboaters hang out.

 

[jimchere]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

Don't forget, there's more than the problem that resources were tied up in a prank, which meant they were not available for a real emergency.<br />The weather was bad, and this moron caused the scramble of rescue units, who themselves risked their own safety to go and help. Granted, that's their job and they are proud to do it, but not for a prank.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

I’m not going to comment on what this idiot did. But consider this:<br /><br />

On July 10, 2003, Baldwin pleaded guilty to …

And then:<br /><br />

Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Lulejian and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Kennedy, Thirteenth Coast Guard District Legal Office, prosecuted this case.

How do you prosecute a “guilty” plea? <br /><br />And does it really require the cooperative efforts of an Assistant U.S. Attorney and a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney ? Imagine if Baldwin had pled innocent. It would likely have required the additional cooperative efforts of a Real Non-Assistant U.S. Attorney and a Real Non-Assistant Super-Special U.S. Attorney .<br /><br />Jus' Shillin' - I think you nailed it.

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

Nanthan<br />If you are using a vhf the Coast Guard can pin point ya with out you giving Lat. Long position.<br />We had a couple of incidenences up this way and after the Coast Guard gave them a warning to knock it off on channel 16 the fool kept it up and he was pinpointed and arrested. Don't know what the out come was.

 

[jimchere]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

Fly-Rod,<br />Yea, they can do that, sometimes. Your transmission has to be persistent at the right time while they are trying to RFDF you.

 

[wajajaja]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

every radio,and every electronic device has a signature, almost as foolproof as a dna. combine it with his voice print of the recording and they gotcha. he probaly used a dsc radio that inserted an id on the radio too, the dumb ****.

 

[wajajaja]

Re: An Idiot Who Won't Be Boating This Year!

the jail will be trivial compared to his economic ruination for life, SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED, will be most be upset with such a life due to his stunt.