Green Bay woman arrested after four months of false 911 calls

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - A 33-year-old Green Bay woman is accused of making multiple false 911 calls to Bellevue for four months.

Holly Arcand was formally charged Thursday afternoon with 3 felony counts of false reporting of an emergency and 17 misdemeanor counts of false emergency 911 calls. (As we reported earlier, the Brown County Sheriff’s Office requested 3 counts of swatting, 5 counts of misuse of 911, and 17 counts of obstructing an officer.)

According to the criminal complaint, 911 calls to Seville Drive started on October 5 last year. The complaint says Arcand provided a phony name. Most of the calls claimed there was a man and woman fighting. Other calls reported drug-related crimes and, most recently, a weapons-related call.

Nine 911 calls were made in October, including two on October 10. Only one call was made in November. The calls started again in December with four 911 calls by December 13.

The sheriff’s office says its Bellevue officers, dispatchers, investigators and crime analysts narrowed down the possible suspects. More false 911 calls came on December 30, January 1, and January 3. Arcand was arrested on Wednesday, January 4.

Capt. Jody Lemmens from the Brown County Sheriff’s Office comments: ““Because there were multiple calls, we started narrowing in on the person of interest. We utilized our crime analysts. Our dispatchers and call-takers are advised ... what additional information to ask for. We utilize a lot of different resources to try to zero in on those responsible.”

The complaint says Arcand’s ex-boyfriend lives with another woman at that Seville address. The woman told police Arcand was harassing her. Investigators believe the ex-boyfriend was the target.

The felony crime carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine on each count if convicted. The misdemeanor crime has a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine on each count if convicted.

The sheriff’s office says false 911 calls occupy dispatchers and officers who need to determine that an emergency exists, sometimes involving officers responding at high speeds, and sometimes reducing the resources available for an actual emergency.

Capt. Lemmens explains: ““It’s also a drain on resources, both call-taker, dispatcher resources, and officer resources. It’s when we’re getting dispatched to something that is unfounded or knowingly unfounded and a false report.”

Arcand was given a 10 thousand Dollar signature bond. One victim, appearing via Zoom, felt a signature bond wasn’t enough: ““I just feel that if she did this this many times, and didn’t stop doing it, she doesn’t have respect for law enforcement ... that she wouldn’t go even further by doing something else.”

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