A Wodonga man thought he was too clever for police when he called in a series of fake bomb and firearm threats to triple zero.
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But it turned out the clues leading back to him were all contained in the phone in his hand.
Trevor Spurr, 39, has pleaded guilty to charges including using a carriage service for a hoax threat.
He will be assessed a by a doctor before being sentenced in Wodonga Magistrates’ Court.
Over seven months, Spurr had police and other emergency services following up on 32 calls that would have each been tragedies for Wodonga – if they were true.
“The nature of the calls made by the accused have involved serious criminal offences from rape, stabbings, serious assaults, involving a number of different weapons, shootings and murder,” court documents stated.
“In addition, the accused has made three calls in relation to bomb threats, two of which stated that nuclear devices were set to detonate in major Australian cities.”
The triple zero calls were made between November 2014 and June 2015.
Officers and paramedics rushed to a home on January 29 after a call stating a man had killed his partner with a shotgun and was on the run.
Police shut down the street as a precaution and entered a house where the incident was reported to have occurred, but determined it was a hoax.
Spurr was arrested on July 14 as police raided his Wilson Street home.
Several mobile phone were among the items seized by police.
Spurr took the SIM card out of his Nokia mobile phone before making the hoax calls and initially told police he knew nothing about the offences.
But police explained to him they could still trace the calls to his phone.
While the number was identified as the default when a phone has no SIM card, police could also access an identity number unique to each phone.
It matched the phone registered to Spurr since 2013.
“As a result of the accused’s actions in making these hoax triple zero calls, extensive police and emergency services resources were needlessly wasted and the community’s safety was placed at risk,” court documents stated.
“The accused stated that he made the calls to annoy the police and to make them waste their time.
“His reason for making the calls was based on his alleged ill-treatment by police when he was a youth.”
Magistrate Stella Stuthridge adjourned the matter until January so Spurr could start treatment with a doctor and be assessed for a community corrections order.
“Do the things your doctor asks you to do,” she said.
