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Chicagoan Arrested For Using Cell-phone Jammer To Make Subway Commute Tolerable (chicagotribune.com)

Posted by timothy on from the bug-me-not-write-large dept.

McGruber writes with this story from the Chicago Tribune: Last Fall, certified public accountant Dennis Nicholl boarded a Chicago subway train while carrying a plastic bag of Old Style beer. Nicholl popped open a beer and looked around the car, scowling as he saw another rider talking on a cellphone. He pulled out a black device from his pocket and switched it on. Commuters who had been talking on their phones went silent, checking their screens for the source of their dropped calls. On Tuesday, undercover officers arrested Nicholl. Cook County prosecutors and Chicago police allege he created his own personal 'quiet car' on the subway by using an illegal device he imported from China. He was charged with unlawful interference with a public utility, a felony. This is not the first time Nicholl has been charged with jamming cell calls. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in June 2009, according to court records. He was placed under court supervision for a year, and his equipment was confiscated and destroyed.

5 of 518 comments (clear)

  1. dipshit by argStyopa · · Score: 5, Funny

    ....for taking it out to flip a stupid switch.
    Smart would have been to be on a call himself, and meanwhile in his pocket flip the switch, then act all annoyed and pissed like everyone else.

    BTW where could I buy one?

    --
    -Styopa
  2. Re:No good guys. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    But he was blocking the use of a sting-ray device, so they threw the book at him.

  3. Re:Good by stealth_finger · · Score: 4, Funny

    By the way, are you allowed to have a beer on the Chicago public transit? If so, that's fantastic!

    Yes, people drinking as they please, with no bathroom in sight (but plenty of pillars). It's a real treat.

    Gotta stop them people on the phone though.

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
    https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  4. Re:Good by Lord+Apathy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've been on many public train systems but I have yet to see any signs that indicate that pissing on the seats isn't allowed.

    --

    Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification

  5. Re:Good by sjames · · Score: 4, Funny

    He's referring to the new revised Fundamentalist Bible. They just ignore the parts they don't like.