ZANESVILLE, Ohio (TCN) — A woman recently pleaded guilty to over 25 counts after calling and abusing 911 hundreds of times, significantly straining emergency resources.
According to the Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office, 34-year-old Kesha Kennedy entered the guilty plea on July 12 on charges of felony disrupting public services, felony making false alarms, and 25 counts of misdemeanor misuse of 911 systems. She will be sentenced at a later date.
Prosecutors said beginning in 2020, Kennedy called 911 nearly 400 times and claimed to experience different illnesses. She reportedly “used local first responders for her personal entertainment for ambulance rides to the hospital” for her nonexistent emergencies.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the South Zanesville Fire Department responded to the calls and “became strained by her improper and frequent use of emergency resources.”
As a result, first responders were unavailable for real emergencies. Prosecutors said in one instance, the fire department received a call of a person unable to breathe. Responders were unable to help due to Kennedy’s misuse, and the person eventually died. In another situation, fire personnel were understaffed for a fire because they were assisting Kennedy.
According to prosecutors, Kennedy called 911 multiple times weekly and sometimes several times in one day.
At the hospital, Kennedy would reportedly admit she was not experiencing any medical problems or emergencies, but she’d still have to go through triage every time. Prosecutors said the visits were funded through Medicaid.
Kennedy underwent a psychological evaluation, and Muskingum County Assistant Prosecutor John Litle said in court that she “demonstrated ‘a factitious disorder, which means that she’s a liar.'”
Kennedy reportedly has a history of misusing emergency resources in other counties. In August 2023, Kennedy was at the Licking Memorial Hospital and allegedly “pretended she was suddenly unable to stand or walk.” She also faked being unconscious and then woke up and told officers she was disabled and didn’t know the meaning of being read her rights. Prosecutors said she was convicted of misusing the 911 system in the case.
In a statement, Little said, “Obviously some type of check or balance needs to exist, so that this type of abuse is more quickly reported by EMS to law enforcement because 350 pointless ambulance runs is absolutely ridiculous.”
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