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A 22-year-old El Cajon man charged with making a distress call to the U.S. Coast Guard about a fictional boat disaster pleaded guilty Monday.
Robert Bryan McCombs appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Judith Keep, who set sentencing for Aug. 18. He could receive five years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
A massive search Feb. 26 in Mission Bay ended in the arrest of McCombs after the Coast Guard, Harbor Patrol, San Diego Police, lifeguards and Life Flight personnel discovered the rescue calls were a hoax.
McCombs has been held without bail in the Metropolitan Correctional Center since his arrest.
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