Hoax caller reports fake boating accident
Man told police 20 people from sinking craft were in the ocean

David Allen Brandon

A Camarillo man was arrested early Sunday morning, accused of calling in a false report of a boat sinking in Channel Islands Harbor.

Police said just before midnight Dec. 29, 29-year-old David Allen Brandon called to report that 20 people were in the ocean, having escaped from a sinking boat.

Brandon allegedly told police he was a naval officer, and said he had been walking along the jetty when he saw the emergency in progress.

Ventura County sheriff's Capt. Jerry Hernandez said police don't know why Brandon made the false report. Hernandez said Brandon is not affiliated with the Navy or any other branch of the military.

As a result of the call, Ventura County Fire, Oxnard Fire and Ventura County Sheriff's patrol units and rescue helicopter immediately responded along with water rescue teams from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Ventura County Harbor Patrol. An hourlong search, however, yielded no evidence of a boating mishap, and police said it became apparent the call had been a hoax. Sheriff's deputies in Moorpark, Camarillo and Ventura traced the call and identified the caller as Brandon, who was arrested and later released. He is due back in court Jan. 14. In 2002, he pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges.

- Michelle Knight