Holly MatkinSt. Petersburg, FL – A Florida woman has been arrested on misdemeanor charges for allegedly calling local law enforcement precincts more than 11,000 times since January to accost and berate anyone who answered the phone, according to investigators.
According to an arrest affidavit, 50-year-old Carla Michelle Jefferson had been using two different phone numbers to “make harassing and/or obscene phone calls” to the St. Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) for at least the past eight months.
Investigators said she called the SPPD 512 times over a period of just 24 hours in early July.
“She accounts for [approximately] 10% of the total call volume to the St. Petersburg Police Department non-emergency number,” SPPD Officer Kaitlyn Larson noted in one arrest affidavit.
Jefferson, an unemployed St. Petersburg resident, is also a convicted felon, according to The Smoking Gun.
“The defendant continuously calls and harasses, belittles, swears at, argues with, and demands officers come arrest her,” SPPD Officer Christopher Bishop wrote in his report. “Upon arrival of officers to her residence she retreats inside, refuses to answer the door, and has in the past given officers the middle finger and screams at them through the windows.”
The SPPD noted it sent a certified letter to Jefferson in May “informing her that her actions will result in prosecution” if they continued, according to one of the arrest affidavits.
The letter was confirmed to have been received, but the calls continued, according to police.
“The content of these phone calls are vulgar, threatening, or obscene,” Officer Larson wrote. “Her harassment of SPPD call takers include statements like ‘hang up and I will call back.’ Many calls contain extreme expletives, sexual innuendo, and belittling remarks to the communications staff.”
Jefferson was arrested at approximately 1:28 p.m. on June 30 on a charge of harassing telephone calls and was released on $250 bond the same day, according to an arrest affidavit.
She was arrested again on Aug. 8 on a second charge of harassing telephone calls and was released on her own recognizance, according to The Smoking Gun.
Officers noted Jefferson appeared to be under the influence of alcohol on both occasions.
Prior to her arrest on Aug. 8, she allegedly called the SPPD and told officers to “come arrest her” and that “she loves playing this game,” according to Officer Bishop.
Jefferson then refused to answer her door once again when officers arrived, police said.
According to The Smoking Gun, Jefferson has been convicted of multiple felony and misdemeanor charges in the past.
She has spent a total of approximately six years in prison for prior offenses.
