Like wikizens, ham radio operators share communication resources and sometimes endure the abuse of others. Hams have learned over the years that the best way to deal with occasional pests is simply to turn off the radio. But then, some pests just won't quit. The following notice caught my attention especially for the tennacity of the alleged jammer.


''from the American Radio Relay League's  ARRL Letter Vol. 24, No. 18 May 6, 2005 ...''

FEDERAL AGENTS ARREST, DETAIN ALLEGED CALIFORNIA JAMMER

Reputed Los Angeles-area repeater jammer and former Amateur Radio licensee
Jack Gerritsen was taken off the air and into custody this week. Acting on a
criminal complaint, FBI special agents, accompanied by personnel from the
FCC Los Angeles Field Office, arrested the 68-year-old Gerritsen without
incident early May 5 at his home in Bell, California. Federal agents also
confiscated Gerritsen's radio equipment.

"A criminal complaint filed Wednesday afternoon charges Gerritsen with a
felony charge of malicious interference with a communications system
operated by the United States and a misdemeanor count of transmitting radio
signals without a license," said a May 5 statement from the office of Debra
W. Yang, US Attorney for the Central District of California. "The two
charges carry a potential penalty of 11 years in federal prison."

At an initial court appearance May 5, bond was set at $250,000 "fully
secured." A spokesman in the US Attorney's office explained that Gerritsen
will have to post property or cash to be released, but that it will be
several days before the necessary paperwork is ready--assuming that
Gerritsen is able to make bail. Once released on bond, Gerritsen would be
subject to home detention and barred from possessing any radio equipment,
the spokesman said, adding that Gerritsen's house would remain subject to
search to make sure.

Unless Gerritsen is indicted beforehand, a preliminary hearing in the case
is set for May 25, with arraignment to follow on May 31.

The criminal complaint says an FCC investigation revealed that Gerritsen
"transmits his prerecorded political messages and real-time harassment and
profanity for hours at a time, often making it impossible for licensed radio
operators to use the public frequencies."

Gerritsen already faces a total of $52,000 in FCC-imposed or proposed
forfeitures for alleged interference. In March, the FCC denied a Petition
for Reconsideration and upheld a $10,000 fine against Gerritsen for
interfering with Amateur Radio communications. Gerritsen has yet to pay the
fine.

An FBI affidavit sworn out this week in advance of obtaining a search
warrant of Gerritsen's residence indicates that FCC agents have been
investigating multiple instances of unlawful radio transmissions and
malicious interference attributed to Gerritsen over the past four years. FCC
agents on a regular basis have been monitoring radio transmissions said to
be coming from Gerritsen. They've also spoken with him in person and asked
to inspect his station, although earlier FCC documents say he refused that
request.

In addition to Amateur Radio repeater communications, Gerritsen is alleged
to have interfered with Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS)
transmissions. The FCC also reported that it has received complaints from
other government agencies that Gerritsen interfered with local and state
police and fire agencies, the American Red Cross, the US Coast Guard
Auxiliary and other radio services. A MARS training exercise in March had to
be canceled as a result of interference attributed to Gerritsen.

Earlier this week, Gerritsen, who briefly held the call sign KG6IRO as a
Technician licensee and still uses it on the air, was taken into custody by
Bell, California, police officers on an unrelated contempt of court citation
after violating the terms of a temporary restraining order (TRO) a local
radio amateur had obtained to keep Gerritsen off a local repeater. He was
released without bond after being held for a few hours and was reported back
on area repeaters not long afterward.

Radio amateurs on the West Coast have been complaining for months about the
slow pace of enforcement action in the Gerritsen case. Los Angeles-area
repeater owners have taken to shutting down their machines to avoid the
nearly constant barrage of malicious interference attributed to Gerritsen.

Five years ago, Gerritsen was convicted in state court of interfering with
police radio transmissions and sentenced to 38 months in prison. Following
his release in July 2003, the FCC soon began receiving complaints about
Gerritsen's activity on the airwaves, according to this week's criminal
complaint.

Yang's office said the FBI "received substantial assistance" from the FCC in
the case.