A 28-year-old Florida man was arrested Tuesday, after calling 911 for a ride to Hooters, police say.
On the morning of March 5, 28-year-old Jonathan Clayton Hinkle allegedly told a 911 operator his grandmother was having a stroke in the parking lot of the Hooters restaurant at 125 N Sykes Creek Parkway in Merritt Island.
He allegedly told first responders he would pay them to take him to the, er... famed chicken wing joint immediately.
They did.
But after a three hour search for Hinkle’s grandmother, authorities realized she never actually had a stroke at all. She didn’t even tell Hinkle she needed medical help.
The grandmother, 79-year-old Gayle Strickland, told deputies she was released from the hospital a few days prior, and asked Hinkle to pick up his belongings from the residence where she was staying.
Deputies later found Hinkle at a nearby Burger King with his girlfriend.
Hinkle was arrested in Cocoa on Tuesday night on charges of misusing 911 and was taken to the Brevard County Jail. Misusing 911 is a third-degree felony and the maximum possible sentence is five years in prison.
He was released Wednesday night, according to the sheriff’s office.