A Coffee County, Tenn., man is behind bars on a $100,000 bond after claiming he was the “clown who had been threatening children” and then threatening 911 dispatchers and their children.
George Randy Hoppe, 64, of Volunteer Avenue in Manchester, Tenn., was booked on a stalking charge Friday. Hoppe was arrested after investigating deputies worked out his identity even though the initial call to dispatchers came through an untraceable non-emergency line, according to Coffee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lucky Knott.
Coffee County Sheriff Steve GravesAuthorities said Hoppe called the Coffee County Communications Center, identifying himself only as the clown that had threatened children.
In the last few months, creepy clown sightings have multiplied across the region and nation, forcing law enforcement to issue warnings not to dress up as a clown and scare people. Lying to authorities about creepy clown sightings can even result in charges of filing a false report, according to officials across the region.
According to the arrest warrant in Coffee County, the caller police say is Hoppe started using “very lewd” language with the dispatcher and told her “he was going to harm children. He also allegedly stated that he was going to kidnap children and the dispatcher, cut their ears off and [commit] other lewd acts, the warrant states.