'Unacceptable!' - Detective on how jailed hit-and-run internet troll caused stress and wasted police time
A detective has branded internet troll David Brown's behaviour "unacceptable" after he was jailed for tormenting the family of a teenage hit-and-run victim.
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The 61-year-old was handed a 15-month jail sentence at Shrewsbury Crown Court - sitting in Telford - for two counts of sending malicious communications after contacting the mother and stepfather of Dylan Price, who was killed on the B4385 Brampton Road in Bishop’s Castle just before his 18th birthday.
Brown, under the false name of John Thomas, sent messages claiming he was the killer and that he knew who had done it, stringing the family along for a week, all because he was "sick of seeing Dylan, Dylan, Dylan all over Facebook".
Detective Inspector Jo Delahay of West Mercia Police, said: “This has caused considerable and unnecessary stress to Dylan’s family during their time of grief, and I welcome the sentence that has been handed to Brown.
“Claiming to be involved in someone’s death when you were not only wastes police time and could hinder the investigation, but to then contact a grieving family with these claims is unacceptable.
“I would like to reassure the public that we thoroughly looked in to Brown’s claims and after investigating them, we are satisfied he was not involved.”
No one has yet been charged with for causing Dylan's death on September 19, 2021 and the investigation continues.
Anyone with information can contact police on 101.
