Convicted Navistar active shooter prankster avoids prison time, sentenced to house arrest

CLARK COUNTY — A New Carlisle woman previously accused of texting her sister to report an active shooter at Navistar and told deputies the ‘April Fools Joke’ was payback will not spend time in prison.

Pamela Sisco, 58, was convicted in May on one count of inducting panic. News Center 7 was in court Wednesday when a judge sentenced her to 30 days house arrest and 40 hours of community service.

Sisco was also sentenced to a year-long term of community control, prohibiting her from leaving the state without permission. If violated, she will be sentenced to six months in prison.

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A Clark County Common Pleas Court judge ruled Wednesday that Sisco would not owe any restitution.

“She stated she was playing a joke on her sister for April Fools Day and trying to get her back from last year,” an affidavit filed in Clark County Municipal Court read.

Court records show 34 law enforcement and EMS personnel responded to the Navistar plant on Urbana Road around 11:45 a.m. April 1, 2021 on a report of a possible active shooter.

That response came after Sisco’s sister called 911 after receiving text messages from Sisco.

“She said there was a guy that got fired yesterday and he came in with a gun and they are barricaded with the lights off in an office,” the sister said to a 911 dispatcher. “She sent me a text, and I’m afraid to text her if they are barricaded and hiding.”

The first law enforcement that showed up at the plant within two minutes went inside the building and attempted to locate the possible shooter.

“She put a lot of people in danger today over a stupid joke,” Maj. Chris Clark with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office previously told News Center 7.

Sisco was found inside the plant and when deputies approached her she said “this was an April Fools Joke she was playing on her sister” and that there “was no active shooter and she made the entire thing up,” court records read.

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Deputies previously said Sisco willingly showed them her phone. Investigators said the phone “clearly shows he advised her sister they were locked in the office and she was hearing gunshots,” records show.

Emergency dispatch traffic obtained by News Center 7 showed about 18 minutes went by between the initial response of officers and officers being told to stand down after it was discovered it was a prank.

Sisco previously declined to speak with News Center 7 after the incident. In court Wednesday, she declined a judge’s offer to speak.

Navistar confirmed in late April 2021 that Sisco had been fired from the business.

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