3 days in jail for woman who griped about Chinese food

Canton Repository

ALLIANCE

A woman who dialed 911 to complain about her Chinese food order has been ordered to spend three days in jail.

A Municipal Court jury on Thursday convicted the 44-year-old of a misdemeanor count of knowingly abusing the 911 system.

Judge Andrew Zumbar ordered the woman to report to the Stark County Jail on Nov. 6 to serve her sentence.

However, he gave her the option of completing 10 days of community service work instead of the jail time.

In July, the woman dialed 911 to complain, telling the emergency dispatcher that the food at an Alliance eatery was “not up to par for her liking.”

The Repository does not typically name those charged with misdemeanor crimes.

The woman’s attorney, Shawn Robertson, said his client is considering an appeal.

She “didn’t call 911 just to complain about her food. She testified the food was spoiled. She and her friend sought to have their money refunded to their credit cards, but the cook ... wouldn’t allow it. In fact, he became very agitated and began screaming” at the two, he wrote in an email.

The friend tried to find the Alliance Police Department’s number on her smartphone, but she had no Internet service, so they contacted the police via 911.

Police made the restaurant refund the money, Robertson wrote.

“... I believe the jury convicted her because they thought it just wasn’t serious enough to call 911.”