Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 27, 1994 TAG: 9404270089
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Rodney Bocook, the self-described "Roanoke Phantom," told a federal judge that he was just "goofing off" when he used his own aviation transmitter to tell pilots to break off landings, change altitude or switch radio frequencies.
"I never tried to hurt anyone," he said. "I got the impression that I was getting on people's nerves, but I never got the impression that I was putting them in danger."
U.S. District Judge Sam Wilson didn't buy it.
"I don't see how this differs from a person blindly shooting into a theater," Wilson said. "He certainly knew the consequences of his actions."
Bocook, 27, was also fined $2,000 and sentenced to three years of probation after his release from prison.
Bocook pleaded guilty in January to charges that he repeatedly broadcast false instructions to pilots and used obscene language over the airwaves during six weeks in August and September. He also confessed that he made false Mayday calls and impersonated the pilot of a hospital emergency helicopter.
Tony Anderson, Bocook's attorney, argued Tuesday that his client had a "diminished capacity" to reason, and deserved a light sentence.
"We're not dealing with someone who has set out on a criminal scheme to intentionally inflict danger," he said.
Conrad Daum, a Salem psychiatrist, testified that Bocook suffers from mild to moderate depression, which could have influenced his behavior.
Daum also said Bocook has difficulty realizing the severity of his actions, which could lead to more problems with the law in the future.
"Yes, I think there is a pattern here that needs to be interrupted and changed,'' the psychiatrist said under cross-examination from Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Peters.
Bocook, testifying Tuesday for the first time since his arrest last year, said it wasn't difficult to make the false broadcasts.
All he did was purchase an aviation walkie-talkie - which cost about $500 - program it to the Federal Aviation Administration frequency, and start talking.
"It wasn't nothing sophisticated," he said. "It was simple."
Bocook said he learned to imitate air-traffic controllers simply by listening to a scanner, but that he never meant to harm anyone.
"All I meant to do was goof off and clown around on the radio. ... It was like an outlet," he said. "I got the impression that the pilots and the air-traffic controllers knew that."
An FBI agent testifying at the plea hearing in January said Bocook's initial broadcasts were easily detected as fake, but that he eventually learned the right terminology and became very convincing.
On one occasion, had Bocook's instructions been followed, a plane would have crashed into the mountains surrounding the airport, according to a federal affidavit.
by CNB