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Man faces hefty fine for using cell phone jammer during his commute

Posted at 12:58 PM, May 02, 2014
and last updated 2014-05-02 12:58:47-04

(WTSP) - A Florida man is in big trouble for using a cell phone jammer while driving on the highway.

60-year-old Jason Humphreys admitted to police he'd used the device on his daily commute for roughly two years - because he didn't want drivers around him talking on their cell phones.

But the powerful cell jammer shut down more than people's phones.

A cell phone company got suspicious when they noticed something scrambling the signal on their towers during certain times of the day.

Investigators say they tracked the trouble to the enormous cell phone jammer Humphreys had wedged it into his SUV.

The jammer blocks cell phones - but it will also block police radios, scramble aircraft communications, and keep people from using their phones to call 911.

That's why these things are typically illegal in the U.S.

However dozens of them listed are for sale online - overseas and out of the FCC's reach.

The agency has slapped the highest fine possible on Humphreys: $48,000.