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California Man Sentenced To 20 Years In Deadly Kansas 'Swatting' (fox4kc.com)

slipped_bit writes: Tyler R. Barriss, 26, who pleaded guilty to multiple counts of "swatting" attempts, including the case that caused an innocent man to be killed by police in 2017, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. The case in 2017 was all because of a dispute between two online players over a $1.50 bet in the "Call of Duty: WWII" video game. A total of 51 federal charges related to fake calls and threats were made against Barriss. "Barriss' prosecution in Wichita consolidated other federal cases that had initially been filed against him in California and the District of Columbia involving similar calls and threats he made," reports FOX 4 Kansas City. "Prosecutors had asked for a 25-year sentence, while the defense had sought a 20-year term."

"The intended target in Wichita, Shane Gaskill, 20, and the man who allegedly recruited Barriss, Casey Viner, 19, of North College Hill, Ohio, are charged as co-conspirators," the report adds. "Authorities say Viner provided Barriss with an address for Gaskill that Gaskill had previously given to Viner. Authorities also say that when Gaskill noticed Barriss was following him on Twitter, he gave Barriss that old address and taunted him to 'try something.'"

3 of 232 comments (clear)

  1. Re:OK, how about the actual shooter? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Informative

    Go watch the youtube videos.

    It is nothing like what you describe.

    The cops show up. Position themselves across the street in body armor, behind multiple cars, with a dozen guns pointed at the house.

    Then an unarmed guy comes out, hands clearly empty, clearly confused, with a bright searchlight pointed at his face.

    Then a cop murders him in cold blood.

    Even if the call was real, there was absolutely no excuse to just kill the first guy they see. They had no idea if he was the "bad guy" or one of the "hostages".

  2. Re:OK, how about the actual shooter? by Iwastheone · · Score: 4, Informative

    GTA is a fucking made up fantasy video game that immature young adults can be/are influenced by. That's the truth whether you like it or not. Most kids know it's just a b.s. game, this swatter guy did not. An innocent man died because of this.

  3. Re:people still blaming cops by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 3, Informative

    Gun ownership in Switzerland is higher "on paper only". First of all they have strict rules for carrying a weapon. Secondly the guns/rifles are in possession of members of the militia. Weapon and ammunition is locked away in different lockers, ammunition amount is minimal. In case of mobilization they gather at assigned points with their base equipment they have at home, and specialists who bring transportation and orders bring the extra ammunition.

    Perhaps one from Switzerland can comment more precisely how it exactly works.

    --
    Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.