Skip to main content

Florida Man Arrested for Calling 911 to Help His Grandmother, Who Wasn't Having a Stroke

By Christopher Coble, Esq. on June 09, 2017 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Remember back when you were in middle school and you really wanted to a ride to the mall and your mom was all like, "No way, I don't have time to chauffeur you all around town," and you were all like, "But Mom, Jenny (your best friend) is going through a really bad breakup right now and she really needs me to meet her at the Cinnabon," but really you just wanted to see if Chad was there and ask him what was up with his friend Ryan and if he really, really liked you or just kinda liked you?

That's pretty much what a Brevard County man did; only he told 911 his grandmother was having a stroke in the Hooters' parking lot. And while you just had to text Jenny instead and ask her to ask Chad to ask Ryan what was up, Jonathan Clayton Hinkle got arrested and charged with a misdemeanor.

Missus Miscommunication

Although the news of Hinkle's arrest just came out this week, it involves a 911 call he made in the early morning hours of March 5. According to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, Hinkle informed a dispatcher that his grandmother was having a stroke in the parking lot of a nearby Hooters and he was running to try to get her help. He pleaded for a ride to save her and even offered to pay responders to take him there immediately, including money for gas.

The only problem? Hinkle's grandmother was at her daughter's home, and told officers she never called her grandson to say she needed help, she was not having a stroke, and she most certainly had not been at Hooters. The only other problem? Police had already driven Hinkle to the Hooters ("As I let Mr. Hinkle out of my patrol vehicle," an officer said, "he said thank you and took off in a full sprint across the parking lot and headed west."), and it took three hours to locate the grandmother, verify her wellbeing, and locate Hinkle in a nearby Burger King parking lot, apparently helping his girlfriend with a car mishap.

Misdemeanor Misuse

Other than the girlfriend's car trouble, we can't think of why Hinkle wanted to get to the Hooters so badly that night. The NCAA's March Madness hadn't tipped off yet and while Hooters' wings are fantastic, they're not quite call-911 fantastic. And they are definitely not sixty-days-in-jail, six-months-of-probation, and $500-in-fines fantastic.

So maybe next time tell Hinkle should give his grandmother the heads up on the plan. Or pick a more likely place she would suffer a stroke. Like a Cinnabon.

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard