Man accused in radio hoax goes to court - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Rhori Johnston/Eyewitness News

Indianapolis, July 29- An on-air warning was issued from a morning radio team known for practical jokes and pranks. But this was no joke.

Thursday morning on the Radio Now "Billy and Marco Show" on WNOU-FM 93.1, callers shocked the DJs. "Y'know, we say we're unscripted every day," says Marco. "This was totally unscripted!"

Listeners said they received phone calls telling them to go to a house on Fletcher Avenue and, as part of a "Billy and Marco Show" contest, they'd win up to $50,000 in cash for taking off their clothes.

"The stories were so consistent, at that point, it couldn't have been a joke," says Marco.

DJ Billy Breeze adds, "Once we talked about it one time on the air, I think we had like ten calls in a row of people telling the exact same story, the exact same address, the exact same M.O."

Some went to the home, many became suspicious.

"It's the lure of easy money, $50,000, a new car, and all I have to do is go to this address." Fortunately, State Police Sergeant Dave Bursten was at the radio station at the time.

The DJs called him in to help track down the suspect on-air. Other corrections officers listening in their cars went to the address, and arrested 40-year-old Richard Brown.

He was already on home detention, wearing an ankle bracelet for a previous criminal confinement charge.

"To my knowledge," says Bursten, "no one was physically harmed, although a couple of the people are very emotionally distraught over what happened."

State Police know of four people who went to the Fletcher address. They think others are too embarrassed to admit the fell for the hoax. They urge those people to come forward and call them.

Thursday morning wasn't the only time Brown allegedly called people to lure them to his home. One person says he received the same phone call, but instead called police.