A local man called 911 to report a drug overdose. But it was not true

A local man called 911 to report a drug overdose. But it wasn’t true. Ryan John, 30, of Newport, pleaded not guilty to multiple charges in Orleans Superior Court on Tuesday including identity theft, false pretenses, false information to a police officer and false alarm. John is now being held at Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield for unrelated reasons. “Ryan John knew full well that he called 911 with the intent of making a false report of a life-threatening issue. The alleged incident occurred on March 31 at approximately 2:22 a.m. Newport Police Dispatch received a 911 call involving a person who identified himself as “John Brown” who advised that he was at 40 Bayview Street. The caller said he observed an overdose while looking into an apartment below him. But when Newport Police Dispatch took over the call from 911, the caller changed his story, saying he was across the street. Police said they then identified the voice on the 911 call as Ryan John. John faces a possible sentence on all his new charges of over five years in prison and $7,500 in fines.